Too Deep For Words

I can still hear his voice in my head. "I just love you so much, Valerie." This is what my father would always say to me. Always. Even into my adult years. But it wasn't just the words that meant so much to me. It was how he said it. It was the tone of his voice and the depth of his emotion that I could hear. It was what was unspoken that I heard the most. He never spoke it flippantly. It was always an "I love you" that came from the bottom of his soul. It was an eruption from a beautiful swirling that could never actually be fully expressed with words alone. It was a love so strong and so deep that he seemed to almost be in agony with the weight of it. I knew one thing growing up. My father loved me. 

And I can still hear his voice in my head even now after he has gone to be with Jesus. I can still hear it. I can still feel it. And it gives me a tangible understanding, even to a small degree, of what God means when he says He loves us. Our Heavenly Father loves us. And when He tells us He loves us, He never says it flippantly or with the same emotion we have might have when we say, "I love ice cream." It is deep. It is with swirling emotion. It is weighty. It is echoing. It is with a passion so strong that He is willing to lay down His life for us. And He did.

"I just love you so much, _______"

Let God show you for Himself. Insert your name into this sentence. Close your eyes and let God speak it to you. Listen for His heart. Feel the weightiness of His passion. Don't let the world define how God loves. Let Him show you Himself.  He loves you.