Thank You!  I Love You!

Those may seem like simple and meager words, but wow there is power in them.

Yesterday while my children were at school I wrote them each a card telling them how amazing they were and how much I loved them.  I left the cards on their pillows.  My daughter didn’t find hers until she crawled into bed for bedtime stories.  I was with my son and my husband was going to read my daughter her Bible story in bed.  He read the card to her as she is only in kindergarten.

When I came into the room to give her a good night hug, her eyes spoke before words left her lips.  She was filled with joy.  The first thing she said was, “thank you for the card, Mama!”  Then she gave me a big hug.  I told her I loved her and how beautiful she is.

My daughter then became quite distressed.  She told me she didn’t know if she would have time tomorrow to write a thank you card while she was at school.  I tried to console her, but nearly in tears she said, “I don’t know how to write Thank You or  I Love You.  We’re learning words in school, but not THOSE words!”

Oh what a blessing to see into the heart of a child.  How precious those words are to her.  How concerning it is that she can not yet write them.  Today she and I are going to spend time after school practicing writing Thank You and I Love You.  As for myself, as I go about my work today I will reflect upon what my daughter said.

Do I, with my abundant vocabulary and years of writing experience, take for granted the ability to write the words Thank You and I Love You?  Do I under use them because of their simplicity at first sight?  Have I lost some of my awe and wonder of those words?  Can I have the same passion for them as my daughter?

It’s illuminating moments like these that I am grateful for, because they challenge and inspire me to new heights.  It seems as though the best way to add PEP to this day is to use Thank You and I Love You as much as we can, just because we can.  Let’s not take the words we speak or write for granted in this day.