You don’t have to guess… You are Loved!

When I was little, my mom and I had a ‘secret’ code she initiated when we walked hand-in-hand.

She squeezed my hand three times which meant, “I love you.”
I squeezed back twice: “How much?”
She responded with two squeezes, one light, the other tight: “This MUCH!”

Not tight enough to hurt, just enough to communicate that her love for me was strong. I wonder if my own kids remember me teaching them the same code.

What they do remember are the countless hours we spent reading countless books, including the picture book, Guess How Much I Love You? On each page, Little Nutbrown Hare tells Big Nutbrown Hare how much love he feels. Big Nutbrown Hare’s love is always bigger.

We read that book so often that its lines became our own, gracing lunchbox notes and postcards to sleep-away camp and birthday cards and bedtime rituals: I love you to the moon and back… We embellished with our own phrases: I love you to the moon and back, and under the ocean, to the peak of the highest mountain, around the whole world and back…

True love isn’t a competition, ever. True love loves because that’s what love is, what love does. It speaks and acts lovingly. I’m so grateful that my children love me well, and still, I will always love them more. It’s not a competition, just the way of things. They will grow up and away from me, they will develop their own loves and their own families, and they will always be my babies.

I love God, but his love for me will always be bigger than mine. I may love him to the moon, but he loves me to the moon and back. Because God is love.

My friend, you are so very loved.

Five Minute Friday prompt: GUESS

Published by Siv Ricketts

Hi, I'm Siv (pronounced "See-v") Ricketts, & I'm so glad you're here. In this space & on Instagram, I write to encourage you to have hope, seek beauty, and live joyfully. I have BA’s in English and Communication from Westmont College and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. I have focused my career working in and writing for the Church as a youth director, a communication director, and a freelance writer/editor. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband, two sons, and a menagerie of pets. You can also find me on Instagram (@sivricketts).

5 thoughts on “You don’t have to guess… You are Loved!”

  1. My Life in Our Father's World – Illinois USA – I am a wife and mother with 2 adult children and a granddaughter that brings me joy every day. I am the Assistant Director of a childcare center and a jail chaplain. I consume copious amounts of coffee not because I need it to stay awake but because I love the taste. I believe that God has a unique plan for each of us; consequently, I write what God tells me to write when He tells me to write it..
    My Life in Our Father's World says:

    ❤️

    Reply
    1. Siv Ricketts – SF Bay Area – Hi, I'm Siv (pronounced "See-v") Ricketts, & I'm so glad you're here. In this space & on Instagram, I write to encourage you to have hope, seek beauty, and live joyfully. I have BA’s in English and Communication from Westmont College and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. I have focused my career working in and writing for the Church as a youth director, a communication director, and a freelance writer/editor. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband, two sons, and a menagerie of pets. You can also find me on Instagram (@sivricketts).
      Siv Ricketts says:

      Thank you!

      Reply
    1. Siv Ricketts – SF Bay Area – Hi, I'm Siv (pronounced "See-v") Ricketts, & I'm so glad you're here. In this space & on Instagram, I write to encourage you to have hope, seek beauty, and live joyfully. I have BA’s in English and Communication from Westmont College and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. I have focused my career working in and writing for the Church as a youth director, a communication director, and a freelance writer/editor. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband, two sons, and a menagerie of pets. You can also find me on Instagram (@sivricketts).
      Siv Ricketts says:

      Thank you for reading!

      Reply

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