I noted some interesting trends as I was reading a recent worldwide study of thousands of couples. One of the findings indicated that among the happiest couples, 85% of both men and women said those three magical words at least once a week – “I love you.” Now, you may read that and think, “well duh.” Commonsense would tell us that this would be the case. Yet, a high percentage of couples do not verbally indicate their love for one another on a regular basis. Another item in the study indicated that of the happiest couples, 74% exchange passionate kisses at least once a week. 88% of those couples who are extremely happy plan date nights and alone time together. Again, none of these statistics seem profound. Now one might argue as to why these trends are as they are. Some might say, “Well, these people are happy, therefore, they say ‘I love you,’ they kiss passionately, and they make time for one another. If I were happy with my mate, I would do the same. But I am not, therefore I don’t.” Others could argue that it is because these couples do these things that result in their being extremely happy.
While both arguments have some merit, I am a firm believer in what the scriptures teach with regard to emotions following actions. And if that is true, then moving forward with the words of love and the actions of passion and priority certainly would seem to create fondness, satisfaction, and happiness. With that in mind – I want to encourage you in your relationship with your partner this week. Let them know that you love them by telling them so, making them a priority in your schedule, and you might even try laying a big smooch on them. It just might make a difference.