Words. Words. Words. They're worth more than gold, yet I usually fail to appreciate them until the opportunity has been sorely missed. This week, as my husband and I live in different cities (yet again) until our house sells, I find myself wishing to hear him say "I love you" more than anything. I miss him. Most likely, the same goes for him. Absense makes the heart grow fonder, I suppose, but don't wait until long separations to say and write down the love you have for each other.
Richard G. Scott gave one of my favorite reminders of writing love letters at this last conference (link):
"I learned from my wife the importance of expressions of love. Early in our marriage, often I would open my scriptures to give a message in a meeting, and I would find an affectionate, supportive note Jeanene had slipped into the pages. Sometimes they were so tender that I could hardly talk. Those precious notes from a loving wife were and continue to be a priceless treasure of comfort and inspiration.
I began to do the same thing with her, not realizing how much it truly meant to her. I remember one year we didn’t have the resources for me to give her a valentine, so I decided to paint a watercolor on the front of the refrigerator. I did the best I could; only I made one mistake. It was enamel paint, not watercolor. She never let me try to remove that permanent paint from the refrigerator.
I remember one day I took some of those little round paper circles that form when you punch holes in paper, and I wrote on them the numbers 1 to 100. I turned each over and wrote her a message, one word on each circle. Then I scooped them up and put them in an envelope. I thought she would get a good laugh.
When she passed away, I found in her private things how much she appreciated the simple messages that we shared with each other. I noted that she had carefully pasted every one of those circles on a piece of paper. She not only kept my notes to her, but she protected them with plastic coverings as if they were a valuable treasure." -Richard G. Scott
This week, write your husband a love letter and mail it to him. No one can resist getting something in the mail besides bills. Slip a love letter in the slide-cover of his cell phone before he goes to work. Stick it to his pillow when he goes to bed. Whatever works to make it a surprise.
Like Elder Scott suggested, keep them. Even in the scant number of years I've been married, the sweet little notes my husband has written for me are my treasures. TIP: I'm really bad at keeping tiny slips of paper together, so I take pictures of all the notes my hubby gives me and save them in a "love note" file on my hard drive. Super easy to find, date (because most pictures store with "date taken" info), and reference.
And please, share your stories! How has writting down love notes strengthened your marriage? What sort of cute things do you do to store them?
-Alyssa
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