To Be Loved

I'm currently reading The Shack, which is surprisingly not at all what I expected but in a good way that's teaching more than I ever thought. But I came to a line in the book and haven't been able to get past it. The main character, Mack, is having a conversation with God. He is talking about being loved and what exactly that means. God says to him, "You were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved, it creates a limitation on you. It's like clipping a bird's wings and removing its ability to fly. Not something I want for you." So what exactly does it mean to be loved, or for that matter, to let someone actually love us?
I read this and thought well yes I am loved but do I let people or even God love me? I was stumbling around these questions and sometimes I think we know that love is being given, we just have trouble receiving it in its genuine form. I mean the whole picture is love isn't it, love your God and love your neighbor. Jesus summed it up pretty clearly for us in Matthew. But no matter how much we love or how much love is poured out on us, if we don't take the time to receive it, we are just missing out on the big picture. I think for me, its hard for me to let someone love me because in the back of my mind I know they will fail me or let me down. In some way or another I know I am going to get hurt and it has caused me to guard my heart so much from any kind of love. As sad as it is, I think this also creates a gap between God because its so hard to fathom that He is never going to forsake me or leave me. There's another good quote from the book where Mack is mad and saying why did you leave me, to which God replies "Will you at least consider this: when all you can see is your pain, perhaps then you lose sight of me" I think this is so true in my life, I focus so much on the hurt/situation that I completely lose focus that God is sitting right next to me trying to help and LOVE me, only if I would just let Him! So just some encouragement, He is always there and always will be but it's your choice to let Him love you and help you! Have a blessed day! :]