“It’s funny what a young man recollects” – Forrest Gump

I agree with the wise Forrest. It’s weird how I can remember some things from my past so vividly and some things I can’t.

I visited one of my favorite coffee shops the other day. As I was looking around at the newly remodeled and repainted cafe, I saw this bright pink neon sign that said, “Love ya — Mean it!” This sparked one of the warmest memories I have of a wonderful teacher. Ms. White was my math teacher my freshman year of high school. I find it funny that I remember her so vividly, but I can’t say for certain which math class I had with her. Was it geometry? Algebra 1? I can’t remember. What I do remember is the bubbly, friendly Ms. White, who never forgot a High Five Friday (hooray for getting through the week!) and always sent us away with the same four words, “Love you, mean it!”

The too-cool-for-school teenage boys rolled their eyes and pretended they were allergic to her loving pep. I and many others, however, thought her words were so nice because we actually believed she really meant it. You could tell Ms. White loved all 1000-plus students at my high school by the way she engaged with students in the hallway, the way she encouraged students, and her wholesome display of joy while engaging with students in things other than math.

Her commitment to welcoming scared freshmen through a camp before the school year started was love. Her over-the-top planning of pep rallies and fun school events was love. Her desire for her students to understand math day in and day out showed a lot of love.

In a previous post, I wrote about how this year I want to focus on knowing and trusting in God’s love. I can tell everyone else with complete certainty that God loves them, but sometimes I find it hard to believe it for myself. Maybe some of you feel this way as well.

Why could I remember and trust that Ms. White really did mean it when she said I love you, but it is hard to believe and trust in God’s love sometimes? Was it because she was in close proximity? Was it because I could see her in the flesh—see her eyes light up when she spoke these words to us?

When I am at my lowest, sunk in my deepest hurt and pain, I find it difficult to feel God is with me. But that doesn’t mean He isn’t. It is hard to feel His love for me, but that doesn’t mean He doesn’t love me.

After many years of reading Scripture and praying, I have to remind myself that God is closer to me than Ms. White ever was. He is with me all the time. He lives in me. If I listen closely, I can hear Him say, “I love you — mean it!”

You were with us in the desert
And You led us out and made a way
Fire by night, and cloud by day
And in the valley of the shadow
Never once did You forsake
So, why would we ever be afraid?
‘Cause we know who You are
Oh, we know who You are

• Phil Wickham (Fear Has No Power)

Exodus 13:21-22 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. . . The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.” Love You — Mean It

Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Love You — Mean It

Wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the people of Israel grew weary, yearned to go back to Egypt where they lived in bondage, and strayed away from believing in Yahweh to worship something else. Yet God still led them by His faithful cloud and fire as He promised He would. The same God who shepherded His people faithfully to the land He promised also was with David in the dark valley. David had much to be afraid of, yet he trusted God was with him. Love You — Mean It

Isaiah 49:13-16 “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. ‘” Love You — Mean It

This whole chapter invites us into the most pure expression of love—the promised Redeemer who was sent to take away the sins of the world. Has the Lord forgotten you? No, absolutely not. Oh, how much more the Lord loves you than even the most intimate love of a mother with a child nursing at her breast! He sent a Savior who—acquainted with grief as we are, tempted by the enemy as we are—did not sin and fulfilled God’s plan of unrelenting love for His people. Love You — Mean It

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Love You — Mean It

John 16:7 “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. “ Love You — Mean It

I want to go back to one of the questions I asked at the beginning of this post: Was it (the assurance of love) because she (Ms. White) was in close proximity? Yes, I think so. But the assurance that God loves me more than that and is closer to me than that is through the Holy Spirit—the Helper, the Advocate.

Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite writers because he writes so deeply and beautifully from the depths of his soul about the God he loves and the God who loves him. There is no doubt in my mind that Henri loved and meant it. He writes this about the Holy Spirit:

“Here [in John 16:7] Jesus reveals to us that God wants to be with us in a way that is so intimate and so personal that we can say that God dwells in us, the God is most intimately in us. . . What more intimate communion could you imagine than the breath? It is so intimate, so deep, that you don’t even reflect on it. You don’t say, ‘I am breathing well today.’ You never say that, because it is so intimate, because your breathing is you. And it is that closeness that God chose so that God could become our breath. . . We start seeing what it means when Jesus finally says, ‘I will be with you always until the end of time.’ He means, I will be so intimately with you that you and I are one. You can breathe my breath and you can say, ‘Not I live anymore, but Christ lives in me.’” – Following Jesus (pp. 115-116)

Exquisite writing and exquisite truth. Love You — Mean It

What can we do now with this love?
We can share it with others.

I’m not saying that we give lip service to others and just speak the words; I’m also saying that we put action behind our words to mean what we say. We love sacrificially because that is the way God loves us.

Sometimes I am so preoccupied with myself that I don’t see the love I can share with those right in front of me.

I can give an encouraging word.
I can pray for them.
I can ask them how they are doing.
I can listen.
I can find a way to relate to them, step into their shoes.
I can throw away all my plans for the day to be with them.

It is very hard for me to do these for strangers and much harder to do these things for my enemies. I wonder how difficult it was for Jesus to endure what He endured. I wonder how difficult it was to say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

“At times, we might be involved in larger things — clothing the naked, sheltering the poor, helping the refugees, visiting the sick or imprisoned, but it is always small to begin with. It begins with small gestures. Being kind to your family and the people you work with, saying a patient word, writing a card, sending a flower. Be attentive. Be attentive. Be attentive.”

“If our only concern is ‘I better help him or her,’ or to do things to change a person or the world, or the country, or politics, or the social condition — if change is the condition of service — we are going to be very bitter and very soon. But if service is an expression of gratitude for the love we have already experienced, then we can be free and engage in change without trying so hard. Service is an expression of the gift you have within you that you want to share with others. In a way, service is an act of gratitude. We are so full of God’s presence, we are so aware of God’s promise, that we don’t want to hold it back.”
Henri Nouwen, Following Jesus

I have no idea what Ms. White is doing these days. She left teaching while I was still in high school. Wherever she went, whatever she is doing now, I know she is doing it from a place of love and probably still telling everyone she sees, “Love you— Mean it!” Thanks for the memory, Ms. White.

Even more than that, thank You, God, for the memories I call to mind about You and what You did for us while we were still sinners. You sent Your Son to die the death we deserved. Thank You, Lord, for loving us perfectly and showing us what it means to love genuinely like You. I pray that we can all choose this day that You have given us to love and mean it. We need Your help and guidance today and every day. Thank You for freely giving it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.