The Power of Voicing Love

Have you ever had someone like you? A friend, I mean. And not just like you, as in they can stand you, but like you, as in they love everything about you: they think you're hilarious, they love your personality, they can't get enough of you.

Man, I love friends like that.

Why? Because when I know someone likes me, it brings out the best in me. I don't have to worry about saying the right thing, saying the wrong thing...or even saying anything, necessarily. When I know someone likes me, I let down all of my guards, and all of my defenses because I know that in the mind of that person, I can do no wrong. I can be myself. How freeing is that?

Now, I would assume this is true for most people. Everyone loves to be liked. It's the best.

But how often do you, when you really enjoy someone, tell them so? There's a proverb in the Bible, Proverbs 27:5 that says, "Better an open rebuke than love carefully concealed." Thank you Cynthia Stevens, to opening my eyes to the gorgeous truth behind this verse. I think I've always thought of this verse in terms of romantic love, but, lately, I'm seeing how powerful it can be in platonic friendships. And just to clear up some confusion, I'm not really talking about encouragement here--I can encourage any random person on any random thing if someone asked me to. And honestly, that kind of obligatory crap would cheapen this verse. I'm talking about when you're just really fond of someone. I'm talking about those people (and we all have 'em) that we just carry an unexplainable partiality towards. We just like them. We can't explain why. They just warm our hearts when they come into view. When their name is spoken, we feel a fondness. When we see a missed call from them, we get excited to call them back. Those kinds of people are special, and don't come around very often. What if that person, that person you love so dearly, has no idea the extent in which they're loved by you? What if you, simply voicing that fact, would open up a world of confidence for that person, all because they know someone likes them for them, and for at least that person, they don't have to be someone they're not?

Do we even get what a big deal that is?



Now do two things.

#1. Think about the people in your life that have expressed sincere partiality toward you, in the past or recently (I can think of 2 major ones). Think about how their honesty changed the way you view yourself (it made me more confident, made me dream bigger, made me like myself more).

#2. Now, think of the people in your life that you really like (I can think of a few.) Have you told them? (not yet.) Will you choose to have the boldness to tell them how awesome they are, possibly being a stepping stone to a turning point in their life?

As humans, we need this kind of honesty. We need people who like us, to tell us! Because that's when lives are changed for the better. That's when shy people start to speak up. It's when people who think they're stupid begin to think they're smart. It's when that one bit of truth speaks louder than anything else, and people begin to see they're worth something.

So, if you're fond of someone.. go out and tell them just how fond you actually are.