The words “I LOVE YOU” are some of the most beautiful in human language.Regardless of whether they are uttered in English or any other tongue on this earth, they are what sustain us. They give us a reason to keep living life. They give us the will to continue trying. They are the words we long to hear, the ones we long to believe, because they alone give us worth.
And they are the words we miss the most.
As a mom, I remember the times my children were small. Those were both the best and the worst of times. There were diapers and crying and throwing up and sleepless nights…and the kids gave us problems, too. But some things were constant. My children loved me with the pure, unquestioning love of a child. They wanted to cuddle, they wanted to be held, and they wanted to spend time with me. They needed me.
That was then. This is now.
At 13 and 15 years of age, my youngest children are no longer in diapers. They don’t wake up in the middle of the night needing comfort. They don’t like to be held, kissed, or snuggled. As a matter of fact, I count it a major accomplishment nowadays when I get them to speak in complete sentences to me. Hormones are raging; everything that happens is tantamount to making or breaking YOUR ENTIRE LIFE, and one pimple can ruin your social status FOREVER.
At this stage, parents have few good points. They are nothing more than a mode of transportation and funds. They are brainless, old-fashioned, and overly strict. Parents are put on earth to embarrass their children. These are well-known facts.
Yes, this is a stage. They will eventually grow out of it, and mature into adults that I hope will come to value the bond we have. They will learn to say those words I long to hear once again, but the meaning will be different. The “I love you” will come as a conscious decision. A choice made by an informed, totally independent mind. And it will mean all the more to me because it will not be said out of need or obligation.
I think sometimes we go through the same thing with God. We get to the point where God is the old-fashioned parent and we're the rebellious teen. The difference is that we're usually way past our teenage years when the rebellion hits, and it can last for decades.
Trust me. I know whereof I speak. In spades.
For me, the rebellion lasted about twenty years. During that time I did and said things that should have had me fried in oil. Bad things. Horrible things. I wanted nothing to do with God. I even doubted He existed, and if He did, I didn't like Him. I thought there was no truth in the "one way" to Heaven. I thought everyone got there their own way.
But guess what?
God loved me through it. Just like I love my children now. He loved me so much that He waited. Patiently. For years and years.
And finally, I outgrew the rebellion and saw the truth. God loved me so very much that He took His own Son, the little baby whose birth we celebrate, the heart of His heart, and allowed him be killed to pay for MY sins. For all of those horrible, bad things I did.
Could I ever do that? Could I ever sacrifice someone I loved, even if it was to save all of mankind? I don't know that I could. BUT HE DID.
HE LOVED ME THAT MUCH.
So now I can say "I LOVE YOU!" and mean every word from the bottom of my being. Not because I'm a child anymore, but because I'm HIS child. Not because I'm being told to do it, but because I have consciously made the CHOICE to do it. Because I am so very grateful for the love He's given me, and for the love that I can now return to Him.
And I tell Him...many times each day.
And I know He smiles.
1 Peter 2:25
For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (NIV)
1 comment:
Lovely.
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