Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

“I love you.” 

“143.”

“I heart you.”

All different ways to say something that shares your feelings, and yet we need actions to back them up—we need to show our love, and not just say it.  Sure, anyone can say it with flowers or chocolates, but how about saying it with your whole being?

First 5

6. Love When No One Else is Watching

It’s easy to show love in front of others because it is to our own personal gain.  Whether it’s so that people believe that a marriage in trouble is just fine, you’re showing a united front, or someone in front of you just showed love, when others are watching you and they can see what you are doing you can get a pat on the back for doing a good job.

However, when you take the time to show your love behind the scenes—the lunch that he’d have to make, the dishes she’d have to do—you are saying I love you to them in ways that touch them deeper than you know.

7. Speak Positively of Them

We all know the circumstances.  People are away from their husband or wife and they decide to tell the juicy tidbit of how their spouse failed.  They are all set to tell how their wife never lets them do anything or their husband just loafs around the house.

What they don’t realize, however, is that this kind of talk influences how people look at the missing person, and can actually hurt that spouse.  Not only does it rehearse the things that we shouldn’t be thinking about our loved one (because we are a product of what we think and what we do), but it hurts other people’s opinion of that person.

To that end, we should make sure that our communication in the presence of others always seeks to build up the people we love, not tear them down.

8. Take Out the Garbage

No, I’m not talking about that garbage.  I’m talking about the garbage in your mind.  Many of us carry the equivalent of garbage about certain loved ones in our minds.  We have mental (or in some cases physical) lists of where they’ve failed and how much it hurt.  We keep track of things that they’ve said or done, even after they’ve asked forgiveness.

We allow this garbage to build, and to be used time and again in fights or future conflicts, and this garbage belonged long disposed of and replaced with positive thoughts and encouragement.

Nothing says I love you like not keeping track of wrongs.

9. Look Forward to Their Arrival

Time apart is something that no couple wants but all couples must face.  Whether it’s the dating couple that says good-bye after a great night out together or the couple that has to say good-bye for work reasons, couples are usually not together every day for twenty-four hours.  That being said, it’s important to make sure that you consciously look forward to their return.  That you make sure that you anticipate it, and that your loved one knows that you missed them.

10. Take Time to Prepare Yourself For Them

Kristin said it best on this post when she said:

I think a lot of women underestimate how much men appreciate their wife always appearing presentable. My older sister and her husband have been married for over seven years (since she was 20 and he was 19) and despite having three children she still takes the time to dress nicely, do her makeup and hair, and wear perfume every day even if she isn’t leaving the house. Just by doing these simple things she can let her husband know that he is the reason she wants to look beautiful, not for anyone else.

Love says that you’re the most important person in my life—not anyone else—and I want to show it.

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