“Four Very Important Words” by Reva Lachica Moore
“I love you”- three little words that could melt a hardened heart, erase doubt from a wary mind, lift up the downhearted, give assurance to a downcast soul. “I love you!” – three words that could conquer the world.
I never thought that one added word to these three words could give more meaning and stop me in my tracks. One extra word affixed in front of these three words made me retrace my steps and reflect on things that are important. It made me reflect on God’s love to me and to all mankind.
My granddaughter, Kaitlyn, likes to play with her toys, create pay doh figures, dress up her princess dolls, and other things. Before she turned 2, I tried showing her how to use crayons, but she had no interest. She’d rather play with puzzles and games. She became interested in coloring using PaintSparkle on the IPad only but just for short periods of time. She would always go back to her puzzles, games, and toys.
But when she turned 4, she started going back to the basics of coloring with crayons. I was surprised. It was like a fresh start. I wondered what made her want to learn how to color – finally. Maybe the children color with crayons in her pre-school and she did not know how to do it.
She took out the crayon box and coloring books that had been overlooked for a long time. From where I sat, I watched her struggle on holding the crayons the right way. She tried different ways. She held the crayon with all her fingers around it, the crayon tip underneath and started making circles. Then she held the crayon, fingers around it with crayon tip sideways and made circles. She simply did not know how to color. I could hear her making grunts, frustrated for she couldn’t figure it out. I pretended not to watch and kept doing my computer work.
“Teach me, teach me, please!” she hollered. “I don’t know how to do it!”
Ohhh, I can’t believe it. She is serious this time. But, I ignored her. With her coloring book and crayons, she came and asked me again, “Please teach me! I do not know how to do it!”
I sat her down on a desk and showed her how to color. First, I showed her how to hold the crayon right. “Color with one stroke. Do not go over the lines. You can make it colorful but color one area at a time.”
She watched how I held the crayon and how I colored. She started coloring inside the lines and was no longer coloring in circles. I was amazed. But she did not want me to leave her. She wanted me to watch her color. And, also color with her. She insisted on it and gave me a crayon. An hour later, I was sitting there coloring little areas on the same page she was coloring. She colored several pages, with me coloring as well.
Two hours later, she was still coloring, and I was, too. I needed to go to the kitchen, but she did not want me to leave. She wanted that I continue coloring. I got up anyway and walked toward the kitchen.
Then she said, “Come back! Sit down, please. Please color with me!” But I was already in the next room. To get me back to where she was – to color more, she said, “But I love you! (pause) But I love you!” she pleaded.
I stopped in my tracks. It was the “But” that she affixed in her “I love you” that made me go back and sit back down and color some more. I simply couldn’t ignore her pleading, little voice. It was her best and quickest way to tell me not to leave her. “But I love you!” is what she said to get my full attention.
“But I love you!” Each time we go astray and do our own thing and forget that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He is saying, “But I love you!” God is telling us to go back to Him and be with Him always. However, we ignore His pleas, often forgetting the important things in life.
Before long, we have totally forsaken God, but He continues to say, “But I love you! Come back to me!” With outstretched arms, He is always pleading and waiting for you and me.
John 3:16…“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”