PODCAST
Remember, You Are Loved
January 15th, 2016
2 Peter 1:1-15
Dad was never overtly affectionate. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family; he just didn’t say much about it, and his expressions of affection were subdued. One of my special memories is sitting around the dinner table as a family. Invariably, along with the “amen” of the blessing came three gentle pats on the knee of the child sitting next to him. Followed by a wink and a smile, his hands tapped out a simple but powerful “I love you” to one of his children.
It wasn’t that we didn’t know, or had forgotten, but it was good to be reminded. No matter what the worries or struggles of the day, his simple gesture indicated that in spite of it all, regardless of anything else, we were loved. With that reminder, everything else faded in importance.
My wife and I have developed our own rituals to communicate our continuing love to each other. It’s not that we’ve forgotten or ceased to believe, but in the gesture, the message is reinforced and everything else loses its importance. For this reason, I will continue to offer reminders. Even without words, the message is the same: “Remember, you are loved.”
Author: Gary Shank
