Validation

So tonight we had our planning meeting for the up and coming young adult service. As we were talking, Fred said something that really stood out to me. He said that in spending time with someone, we authenticate our relationship with them. He said that his love for steve or I was there regardless and that he knew we could do great things for God, but his love and thoughts of us are authenticated in the time that he spends with us. Now, there's just a few reasons of why hearing this is important. I think the first thing is that you never know how deeply someone cares until the say it. Validation is such a minor thing that can cause such major problems. One of the greatest things my father ever told me was that he loved me, even though I had lost a scholarship to college because of my horrific grades and I did nothing but spend time with a girlfriend that was less than interested in my well being. When he told me that he loved me despite the troubles I had brought upon myself, in a way he was telling me that I can't earn his love, that it'll always be there, whether I want it to or not...which, in and of itself, is a hard concept to grasp on the human level, let alone the divine level. From this unearned love my father also told me that I was a man, and it was this validation that gave me the confidence to overcome many obstacles in my scholastic career and to this point my journey through life.

The second reason that this was huge was it let me know that he valued me as a person. So often I spend my time at church running through tasks that I rarely get to take a breather and just talk much more beyond the "Hi, how are ya?"'s. In a roundabout way, it let me know that he appreciates what I do and the ministries I serve.

Lastly, it never hurts to know that someone loves you.

So through all this I pose this question: Who have you validated today? When was the last time you let someone know how much you love them?