Expressions of Love – Certainly Not Words
When I was in my very early 20’s, I met my first husband. I admit I was an emotional mess, and when he told me that he loved me, I was thrilled. All I wanted was to hear those words from another person, and there he was, telling me exactly what I longed to hear. We were married within 6 months of meeting and I thought I was in heaven. Hearing him tell me every day how much he loved me filled my world with sunshine.
That is, until he began to cheat on me with any woman who would have him. He was shacked up with a woman for three days when I was in the hospital after having our first child. It was a constant parade of other women while he told me how much he cared about me, and the words, “I love you” lost a lot of meaning for me.
I married foolishly a second time, mostly because I didn’t want to be alone. This man loved me, in fact I am sure he loves me to this day. He never cheated on me once. He did, however, develop a terrible drug addiction that he never did overcome. He stole from my kids and eventually sold every thing of value we had to get drugs. This taught me that simply being loved by the wrong person is not enough.
Fast forward to today. I am happily, blissfully married to the man of my dreams. I know he loves and adores me without him ever having to say a word, but he tells me every day. More importantly, he shows me just how much he loves me every single day! It is the little things he does, such as that kiss on the top of my head when he passes by my chair. It is how sweetly he puts a bit of chocolate in my coffee because he knows how much I like it. When he proudly fixes me dinner, and presents it in some artistic way. It is how he holds my hand when we lie on the bed and watch TV together. And the sweet way that he says, “You are my sunshine,” every night before we go to sleep.
For me, expressions of love are more than words; although I greatly value telling the ones I love that I love them as often as possible. It is more than simply really, really loving someone. Expressions of love mean showing the object of your love respect, caring and that they are of value to you. They are expressed with a simple touch, a loving glance, a sweet gesture or a small favor. They are expressed in patience and tolerance of the other person’s quirky behaviors or differences of opinions.
I have learned the value of the little things. I would rather have that kiss on the head than a bunch of flowers. I would rather hear that I am his sunshine than hear just about any other words. The joy of looking across the room and seeing him is what fills my heart. And those, to me, are the true expressions of love.
When I was in my very early 20’s, I met my first husband. I admit I was an emotional mess, and when he told me that he loved me, I was thrilled. All I wanted was to hear those words from another person, and there he was, telling me exactly what I longed to hear. We were married within 6 months of meeting and I thought I was in heaven. Hearing him tell me every day how much he loved me filled my world with sunshine.
That is, until he began to cheat on me with any woman who would have him. He was shacked up with a woman for three days when I was in the hospital after having our first child. It was a constant parade of other women while he told me how much he cared about me, and the words, “I love you” lost a lot of meaning for me.
I married foolishly a second time, mostly because I didn’t want to be alone. This man loved me, in fact I am sure he loves me to this day. He never cheated on me once. He did, however, develop a terrible drug addiction that he never did overcome. He stole from my kids and eventually sold every thing of value we had to get drugs. This taught me that simply being loved by the wrong person is not enough.
Fast forward to today. I am happily, blissfully married to the man of my dreams. I know he loves and adores me without him ever having to say a word, but he tells me every day. More importantly, he shows me just how much he loves me every single day! It is the little things he does, such as that kiss on the top of my head when he passes by my chair. It is how sweetly he puts a bit of chocolate in my coffee because he knows how much I like it. When he proudly fixes me dinner, and presents it in some artistic way. It is how he holds my hand when we lie on the bed and watch TV together. And the sweet way that he says, “You are my sunshine,” every night before we go to sleep.
For me, expressions of love are more than words; although I greatly value telling the ones I love that I love them as often as possible. It is more than simply really, really loving someone. Expressions of love mean showing the object of your love respect, caring and that they are of value to you. They are expressed with a simple touch, a loving glance, a sweet gesture or a small favor. They are expressed in patience and tolerance of the other person’s quirky behaviors or differences of opinions.
I have learned the value of the little things. I would rather have that kiss on the head than a bunch of flowers. I would rather hear that I am his sunshine than hear just about any other words. The joy of looking across the room and seeing him is what fills my heart. And those, to me, are the true expressions of love.
