Love Dare Day #9

Greet one another with a kiss of love. 1 peter 5:14

How do you express your love to your loved ones? Does your friends, co-workers, mom, dad, husband, kids, cousins, uncles, aunts- Do these people know that you love them.? One of the things that stood out to me the most in Fireproof is the fact that you hardly ever heard the words 'I Love You'. Growing up, upon leaving the house or going to bed, you got a kiss and a hug and an 'I love you' from each person in the house first. Anytime we ended a phone call with each other we made sure to say 'I love you' before hanging up. And it is still this way to this day. I feel there are two reasons why we don't express our love to others with our words in this way. First is pride. Second is, once again, emotional walls that have been erected around us to keep us safe from hurt and pain of relationship.

Pride- Do you find yourself sometimes wanting to say I love you as you leave or hang up the phone, but you don't and it leaves an uneasy feeling within you? You worry about what that person will think or if it will cause an awkwardness. Say it! Everyone likes to know their loved and that person may really need to hear it on that particular day.

The Wall- Everything comes back to the wall. We must pray and ask God to break down the walls that surround us. We ask questions like: What if I get rejected? What if I get hurt? What if this weakens me? God desires relationship with us and desires for us to be in close relationship with others- Love your neighbor as yourself. If you do not allow God to destroy the walls that surround you, your relationship with Him and others will suffer. You can not grow closer to Him with this sin in your life. Your hard heart must be softened by God's love.

In addition to refraining from negativity, tell those you love that you love them! This may be a big step for many of you. Pray and ask God for the courage to express your feelings of love and admiration. To demolish pride and emotional walls that hinder you. I love you all very much and wish you a very blessed day!