"Some people really, really need to hear the actual words."

A thought by Gary Chapman from his book, Seen. Known. Loved. (p. 18). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

That is so true!

Gary says, "For people whose primary love language is words of affirmation, unsolicited compliments or expressions of encouragement mean everything! Hearing the actual words 'I love you' makes their day. Hearing the reasons behind that love sends our spirits skyward."

He goes on, "The problem: Words of affirmation are powerful, but for many of us, we just can’t get enough. Comments and likes in our social media feeds make us crave for more and more words of affirmation. The more we get, the more we want. Reagan, for example, is a words of affirmation woman. By her early thirties, Reagan had become a stay-at-home mother of two beautiful children. While she was living a life of love with her family, she began to compare herself to her peers. She often wondered if she was a good mom, if her little ones were having a good childhood, if her home life was one to be envied or if she was falling short. Reagan began to fill her days in between caring for her young children obsessing over her Instagram feed. Always striving for the cutest pictures that showed she was a good mom, that she had a good life, and, most of all, that she was loved. Her posts provided her with the words of affirmation that gave her instant gratification, but they were never enough—she hungered for more. Though Reagan was frequently told she was loved, she was not settled in that love. She spent more and more time watching the words of affirmation tumble and roll across her Instagram posts, but she did not feel loved."

He then says, "Reagan’s struggle is common to us all. This struggle comes from the reality that we were created for God’s love. Reagan, as a words of affirmation person, was created by God uniquely to experience love primarily through words. The catch is that there just aren’t enough words in the world to help her feel that love in such a way to satisfy her soul. For those of us who experience love primarily through words, we desperately need to hear the words of God to us: '"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,'" says the LORD, who has compassion on you."' (Isaiah 54:10)"

And we really do want to hear that He loves us, don't we?

Yes, yes!

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