Always Tell Them "I Love You"

                                                        "I love you"

   Three powerful words, linked together, that can change lives forever.  Everyone needs to hear these words spoken into their life.  At every stage of our journey, we need to know that someone truly loves and cares for us.  How many times have those three words touched your heart or that of someone you love?

   I tell my children that I love them every chance I get.  I end my conversations with them with "I love you".  It speaks life into them knowing that I believe in them and that my love is unconditional always.  

  My grandchildren get lots of hugs, kisses,praise and "I love you" from this Grammie.  I do the same thing with them that I did with my children when they were growing up.  Even if they get in trouble, as all children do when they are learning their limits, I hug them and tell them I love them and that will never change...no matter what. 

   My parents and my mother in law and father in law hear "I love you" often from me.  They are amazing people who have sacrificed so much to give their children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren so much in life.  All of us have been blessed by their giving hearts, guidance, love and laughter.  I want them to know that I cherish and love them.  

   My siblings (including my brother's sweet wife) and my nieces and nephews also know and hear the words "I love you" from me.  Those relationships are precious and I treasure them.  

   I'll never forget the first time my husband ever told me he loved me.  My heart melted and I knew right then that we would spend the rest of our lives together.  I also knew he meant them and did not just throw those words around lightly. They had deep meaning to him and he would not say them until he was absolutely sure that he was in love with me.  We tell each other "I love you" every day and we mean it and have meant it for 32 years and counting. ;)  Every night when my hubby leaves to go to work our conversation goes like this:

me: "I love you"
him: "I love you too"
me: "I love you more"
him: "I know"

:)



   Recently our family went through something very hard that threatened to destroy some relationships within our extended family.  One of the things that I made sure of was that I told the person that we were having the conflict with that my love for them was unconditional and that I would always love them, no matter what choice they made.  That spoke volumes to them about how much they meant to me and how important they were in my life.  That made a huge difference to them and helped resolve things.

   It's amazing how those three simple word can change things. My heart melts when my grandchildren tell me they love me, nothing is sweeter.  My eyes well up when my grown children say "I love you", because I know the weight that those words carry and the deep and strong bonds we share.  When I share those words with my parents and my husband's parents, I realize that it might be the last time that I am able to given the recent health issues that some of them have had.  My friends are like family to me and I try to tell them I love them as much as I can because they matter to me and many of them are going through struggles of their own and need that reassurance that they do have someone in their "corner" who will be there for them and love them through it.  And my husband, the man who is my rock, my best friend, my port in the storms of life, he knows that when I say "I love you" to him it means I appreciate and respect him and all that he does for us and that I want to continue to spend the rest of my life showing him just how special he is to me.  

    Always tell those who you cherish that you love them... I hope that one day, when I am gone, my family and friends will be able to look back and say "Some of her last words to me were "I love you".  I know how special that is, because those were the last words my grandmother and I shared that last time I saw her before she passed away and I will treasure them always.