(I was reminded of a little story I wrote about my oldest when he was two. I hope this little reminder helps you show real love this week as we are starting fresh in 2019.)

Carter is at the stage where he is making the effort to try and repeat words that we say, especially when prompted. After he gets out of the tub every night and puts on his “jammers”, we sit on his bed and say his prayers. When we first began doing this many months ago, I would pray and he would say yes or nod. Eventually he started naming the people or things that we needed to thank God for: Mama, Dada, Papa, Papa Fred, Yaya, Mamaw, tractor, choo choo, dog, meow, and Jesus. When we finish, I give him a big hug, tell him I love him, and send him on his way back into the living room.

Lately, after the prayer, I’ve been trying to get him to say the word “love”. He just looks at me, nods, and smiles. A couple days ago I said, “I love you, Carter. Can you say ‘love’?” He said, “Uh huh!” and threw his arms around my neck. Talk about this mama’s heart melting.

His action made me think about how important it is to not only tell people that we love them, but show them as well. Carter may not say that he loves me yet, but he sure knows how to show it. In what ways can we say “love” to the people in our lives this week?