After the Good Friday church service a few months ago, I was chatting with some people from the church after having a meal together. A couple from church had kindly hosted us in their home and served a lovely English roast. The meal was finished so we were in that period where everyone was having chatter while letting the food in their stomach gracefully settle. In the middle of the conversation, one of the children of the adults at the table there burst into the room with an almost pained look on his face, filled with a sense of urgency. ‘DAD, DAD, DAD’

‘What is it, buddy?’ his dad responded.

‘I just wanted to say that I love you!’

It’s a heartwarming moment I still think about. At the time I just laughed since we all panicked originally at the child’s urgency, so the ‘I love you’ felt very cute (if not, a tad unexpected), but also anticlimactic.

It got me thinking though – are we loving the people around us in all the ways and languages we can?

There’s so much power in the verbal declaration of love. It’s one of the reasons weddings are so significant in the journey of a relationship and why they hold so much meaning. Don’t get me wrong, the words alone only hold true when actions correlate but just hearing those words can be soothing and settle the heart. Never assume people know, even those closest to you – they can sometimes, ironically, be the people who doubt you love them the most. And I’m of the opinion there should never be a day your love is doubted by those you believe deserve it most.

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How do you best make the people around you feel loved?

Photo by Oleg Laptev on Unsplash