Harriet Beecher Stowe said, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”
When I was little, my mom told me, “Always say ‘I love you’ when you say ‘goodbye.’ You never know when it’ll be the last time you see them, and you don’t want to have any regrets.”
That changed me. Not just in that moment, but over time as I observed how very right she was about that. Perhaps the most consistent thing about life is that it is unpredictable. We don’t have much of a say in what tomorrow will bring—but we have a say about this moment, right now.
And we can use this moment to let the people we love know how much they matter to us.
There is so much power in those three little words. They have the power to give strength, bring peace and restore a person’s faith in their life and in themselves. I can’t even tell you how much hearing “I love you” from my children and my husband—often, and with profound sincerity—has changed me. It has given me the strength to push myself through the worst storms in my life and remove the most impossible mountains in my path. They have helped to tear down the thick walls of lies others had built around me. They’ve helped me see myself in a kinder, forgiving and far-more-honest way. They’ve set me free.
There is unimaginable strength in knowing that you matter, and that you’re loved.
Know that you matter, and you are loved, and that your love matters.
We assume others must know how much we love them. Most likely—because the world isn’t very kind—they don’t. They forget. You need to tell them. Show them. Take a moment, today, to make sure they know. And then regularly, in the future, make sure to remind them. You will never regret it.
And honestly, you might just save their life.
Where Rose Writes Very True Stories 