Those three words

I got a guitar for Christmas a few years ago and I was determined to become this awesome guitarist. Both of my brothers play and are pretty good and I have always wanted to. I was pretty good at practicing and teaching myself for about the first 6 months to a year  and then when I got pregnant enough that it was difficult to hold the guitar close enough to my body and I could no longer see what my fingers were doing my efforts diminished into essentially nothing.

I picked up the guitar again today and retaught myself the few songs that I had learned previously and then did what I do best... I googled. I searched "easy song chords" and clicked on the very first link. I found a song I recognized and started teaching myself. It was Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. I know this song like the back of my hand so it was easy to pick up the strumming and picking on the guitar. I listened to the words and something stood out to me in the lyrics.

"Those three words are said too much and not enough."

That one line really got me thinking about "those three words."

I love you.

In January, Mike, a person that I love, passed away in a tragic helicopter crash. I flew with my 4 month old, Luke, to Texas for the funeral to be with my family and my extended family. Not aunts and uncles and cousins, but my church family. Anyways, the overall theme of my time there was to always remember to and never hesitate to tell the people you love that you love them. I suppose it isn't that uncommon to hear something like that at a funeral. It really hit home for me though.

Do I use those three words enough? Do I tell Patrick and Luke I love them enough? Do they actually know how deeply I love and care for them? Do they know that my heart aches and burns with an intensity just laying eyes on them? Did Anna know that? Does she know that now?

I do tell my family that I love them and a select other group of people. But I love so many people that I have probably never told. There are people that I see daily (friends, neighbors, co-workers) that I genuinely love and care about. Not with the same intensity that I love my immediately family, sure, but it is another kind of love is it not? I do love them but I have never told them. What if something happened to one of them and they never knew that I loved them?

It's almost like our culture doesn't even recognize this as love. If you tell these non-family members that you love them it is a frivolous use of "those three words." Like it takes away the meaning behind them.

Are we not called to love each other? Is there even such a thing as using those three word too much?

Imagine a world where people didn't hold back or hesitate to tell each other that they loved one another. If everyone felt loved by someone and truly knew that deep down. It's sad that I can hardly fathom it but I imagine that everything... everyone... would be happier. There would be less war, less abuse, less suicide...

I can't change the world but I could try. I can start with my family and the people close to me. The people that read this blog (yes, all 3 of you! haha) could along with me start a contagion, a ripple effect.

Then... who knows what could happen.

Love each other.