7 Motivational and Inspiring Stories about Finding Courage In Life | Part 5
Some people say the phrase, “I love you” but have no follow up action to what they say. Others act on their love for those around them but do not precede or follow up with a verbal I love you. It is important to say the words I love you and to follow up with action. James 2:14 says, “What profit is it if a man says he has faith and does not follow it up with action? Faith, without action is dead in and of itself.” You need both — Rick Cox
5. A Story About Finding The Courage To Say I Love You
David wanted to tell his girlfriend he loved her. He could not find the courage to do it, though. They had been together for over a year, but he was unable to say those three little words. She had said them plenty of times, and she did not seem to mind that he had not. After all, he did show her love in many different ways. However, he still knew telling her he loved her was important.
He grew up in a family that did not say the word ‘love’. He could not remember one time his mother or father said ‘I love you’ to him. It was not that they did not show their love to him, they just did not say those words, which is why the thought of saying them felt so weird and uncomfortable.
One day he was sitting at a bus stop waiting for his bus to come, and an old man sat down beside him. Out of nowhere, the man started talking about ‘the one that got away’. David did not think much of it because old men and women often started one-sided conversations with him at bus stops. He understood that they were lonely and just wanted someone with which to talk. Nevertheless, he soon realized that this conversation was more of a much-needed pep talk than a simple story.
The old man talked about how beautiful his girl was. He talked about how special she made him feel and how she laughed at even the simplest things. He talked about how her hair sparkled in the sunlight as well as how she gave him purpose and meaning in life. David nodded, smiled, and found himself thinking about his girlfriend. She had given him the purpose to be a better man. She had also inspired in him the desire to take care of her.
Then, the old man looked down at his feet and started crying. The pain was obvious. David felt uncomfortable, but asked him what was wrong. The old man said, “My girlfriend was murdered.” The old man cried some more and David finally said, “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure it must be very painful.” The old man said, “Her dying was painful, yes. It is painful to know that we could have lived a long and happy life together. But, what’s even more painful is that I never had the courage to tell her that I loved her.” The old man started crying uncontrollably and said, “That’s my biggest regret in life.”
The bus came around the corner and the old man wiped his tears and stood up. David was unable to move from the bench. He felt as if stabbed in his heart. The pain the old man had felt was vibrating through David and he knew he needed to tell his girlfriend as soon as possible he loved her. He did not want to live with the regret the old man was feeling.
Suddenly, he had more than enough courage to tell her those simple words, even though it still felt scary to him. He ran to her house and as soon as she opened up the door he said, “I love you.” She laughed, they kissed, and he never had a problem telling her or anyone else that he cared about that he loved them again. For the rest of his life, the old man’s pain of not saying what he wanted to say motivated him when he was scared to say anything hard. He counted it as one of the most motivational and inspirational stories of his life.
Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…
Respectfully,
Rick Cox