I Love You

The other day, my mom was talking to my little sister, and she did something wrong. I forget what she did now, but she disobeyed; therefore, she was given a long, hard talking-to, and immediately put to bed as a punishment. Before she left the room, though, my mom made it a point to tell Kiara that she loved her. Me, being the observant one that I am, found this incredible.
What if the whole world was like that? What if, when someone messed up, we made sure we told that mistaken person that we loved and forgave them? What a world that would be.
Maybe then we wouldn't have so many teens hating their parents and feeling like failures. Maybe then people would understand that no matter where they are, somebody really does care for them, and wants them to be happy.
You see, when I was little, I was a bit of a problem. I'm not sure how many people know this, but my parents adopted me when I was 3. I had been in five foster homes before them, and even though I was small, I had my world figured out. And, according to me, my world did not include a family. I don't think I believed that they would actually keep me; after all, nobody else had. As I think back on it now, I understand that my parents really did love me. Every time I threw a tantrum, every time I tried to convince them (in my 4-year-old way, of course) that they really didn't want me, they 'figured me out' and told me they loved me.
I think of all the other children that have been in that same position. What if the family they were meant to be with had just told them that they loved them, instead of giving up? Maybe they would've turned out differently. Maybe they would've had their happily ever after, and grown up differently.
What if the desperate girl, who finds herself alone with no one to help her, had someone to tell her that she was loved? Maybe she wouldn't have taken her life.
What if a single mother, raising her baby alone without the father, who told her he would always be there, had someone there to really, really love her?
But I can't help believing that there's somebody out there that DOES love us. I believe that God loves us, even if we don't always hear him telling us so. But I see, hear, and feel him telling us everyday.
When you wake up in the morning, he tells you he loves you by allowing you to see the beautiful sunrise, and giving you another chance at life, by giving you another day to live. When you're outside, walking to work, school, or the grocery store, he tells you he loves you by showing you all the wonderful families, living their lives, or by feeling the warmth of your child holding your hand as you cross the street.
You see, I believe that he tells us he loves us all the time. I also believe that we should listen, because when we listen, we feel compelled to tell others that we love them. And when we tell others, we change the course of their future. What a miracle and blessing that is.