Where Do They Go? (03/22/2025)

He had just lost his wife. His friend was trying to console him. The man lamented all the things he felt that he never said, all the things he’d thought he could do but didn’t. And then he asked his friend, “Where do they go? All the things we think and feel but never say or do?” The friend tried to console him. "I'm sure she knew." The man looked at his friend, shook his head and simply said, "I don't know that she did."

That conversation which I overheard stuck with me. It came up again this week. Perhaps it’s because it is Lent and that always makes me realize that my life this side of the sod is not forever. Perhaps it’s because I felt guilty for not acting on my loving idea in the moment. Where do they go, all those good ideas and possibilities for loving well that are never actualized or expressed?

We all need love. We are created in, with and through love. We are created by our LORD who is love. We are created for loving relationships with our LORD, with one another, even with ourselves. We desire love. Why don’t we always express it when we could, when we should? Do those in our lives whom we love dearly know that? Do we speak of it to them daily? Do we express it not only in words but also in caring acts that say “I love you”?

Speaking out loud our love may not be our strong suit, but will it ever be if we don’t practice it? What could happen if we tried to practice expressing it more? Could we become better at our expression and perhaps even more loving? What are we saving those precious words of “I love you” for? Where do the ones never expressed, only felt and thought go?

I thank the LORD for reminding me of that conversation. I pray that all of us on our spiritual journeys of faith, in hope and fueled by love will be able to allow that love to be expressed in word and action. We will all benefit from hearing it. We will all benefit from expressing it.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.