For those of you who still try to keep up with us through our blog - this is for you.

 

Every once in a while there are things that happen in our lives that cause us to take a step back and look at things a little differently.  This story is about one such event.  The other day I was getting ready for church and Elijah had just gotten up out of bed.  He was still in his pajamas, but he was ready to take on the day.  As I began to converse with him about his night, at one point I told him "I love you" - not an unusual statement for me to make to my children - and he responded "I love you daddy" back.  This too is not an unusual response, but for some reason when he said it this time it made my heart skip a beat.  I was awestruck at how something so simple could be so profound. 

 

With God, our Heavenly Father, he tells us every day "I love you" and we go about our business without taking time to acknowledge that statement.  Often we wonder "why does God need me to pray, or to vocalize my needs" when He already knows everything.  But the reality of it is, while He might know what we need, or that we love Him, sometimes He just wants us to say "I love you" back.   I tell my children I love them every day, but when they say it back, it melts my heart into a giant puddle of goo.  When they express their love with those simple words it builds deeper connections and stronger bonds with me and my children.  I feel compelled to love them even more, if that is even possible :)   

 

It makes me wonder - what does God think when we say "I love you" to Him?  Does it strengthen our relationship with Him?  Does it develop stronger bonds or deeper connections?  I believe that expressing ourselves to God is crucial to our relationship with Him.  So - have you told God "I love you" lately?