REMEMBER TO SAY ‘I LOVE YOU’

‘‘Jonathan asked David to repeat his promise of love for him.’’1 Samuel 20:17

Hoping to save their relationship, a woman dragged her husband to see a counsellor. During their session, the counsellor asked him, ‘Do you tell your wife you love her?’ The man growled, ‘I told her when we got married I loved her – and that if I ever changed my mind, I’d let her know.’ Seriously, people know you love them when you show them and when you tell them. The relationship between Jonathan and David was so strong that they were willing to lay down their lives for one another. Yet the Bible says, ‘Jonathan asked David to repeat his promise of love for him.’ When you lose a loved one, you realise that relationships are much more important than possessions. We tend to forget that, in our scramble to get to the top of the heap. There is something about knowing you have a short time to live that radically alters your perspective. It makes you want to fill every precious moment with important words you have left unsaid and important things you have neglected to do. Don’t let self-centredness masquerading as ambition or religious zeal stop you from expressing your love to the people in your life who need to hear it. Make that call. Send that e-mail. Buy those flowers. Say, ‘I love you.’ Most times, people don’t need our opinions and solutions; when we give them our love and support, they usually find their own solutions. Yes, it’s important to fulfil your God-given assignment in life, but not at the cost of the people who really matter. Three little words people never get tired of hearing are ‘I love you’. It’s not complicated – it just requires thought.