Love You!

Over the past few years, I have noticed that I say "I love you" or "love you" considerably more than I used to. A very long time ago, when I was small, I remember my mother commenting one time about how people just seemed to throw around the word love with abandon. She had been watching something on television and observed someone saying "I love that ____." I don't even remember what it was but I remember thinking, in a very immature way, "Maybe that person really does love _______." My mom is a gem but she can play that cynical card sometimes.

So anyway, here I am, a year or two past 40 (hush), realizing that I am telling a lot of people that I love them. I just told a sweet friend that I loved her while we were chatting on facebook. And I do love her. Who would have thunk it? That as I get older, my heart expands. I love my family - they are the neatest people in the world. Seriously. My husband is a kid in a man costume and drives me bananas most days but he is the best man for me in the whole world - no question. I love my kids. Each one of them , individually, embody so many things that I want to be when I grow up - smart, caring, gorgeous, hard-working, really smart (did I already say that). And I literally have the most precious friends in the world. I have friends that are so young, they are really my kids' friends who I've borrowed. I have a few friends who are seasoned beyond their 70th year - what a blessing for me! And these are people who say "Love you" to.

After I told my friend on facebook tonight that I loved her and we both signed off, I remembered what my mom had said so many years ago about people throwing "love" around so much. I wondered if I really love my friend or just loved that she was in my life. And you know what? I do love her. She's an amazing mom, wife, servant and friend. She lives her life in a way that causes me (and others) to admire her and desire to spend time with her. So yeah, I love her.

And if I've told you that I love you lately, know that I mean it. My heart just keeps getting bigger and bigger. One of the sweet young friends I mentioned earlier recently gave me a bookmark with the following scripture from 1 John 4:10-12.

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us."

So perhaps if I'm loving more, it means, I'm reflecting more of Him. I surely hope so!