Words of Affirmation

I started reading The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman a few days ago. I've had the book for awhile and never really thought that I would care to read it, but lately, it just seems appropriate. I get kind of annoyed with it at times because I don't have the singles version so sometimes it gets hard to relate to, but altogether I feel like I'm learning something from it.

After reading and taking the quiz...okay I took the quiz first...I was anxious to know what my love language is...I've learned that Words of Affirmation is first and Quality Time is a close second. I definitely agree with this evaluation.

One of the parts that stuck out in the words of affirmation chapter was this:

The best thing we can do with the failures of the past is to let them be history.

Yes, it happened. Certainly it hurt. And it may still hurt, but he has acknowledged

his failure and asked your forgiveness. We cannot erase the past, but we can accept

it as history. We can choose to live today free from the failures of yesterday.

Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a choice to show mercy,

not to hold the offense up against the offender. Forgiveness is an expression of love.

I have a really hard time with this. Probably because I know it's true. I like to think that I let go of things easily, but words aren't easy for me to let go of. I hold on to words that people say to me. Sometimes I wish they were still as true to them as they are or were to me. But I also hold on to the things that hurt.

The book talks some about how the way you show love could be a direct indicator of what your love language is. For me, that isn't true. The quality time part is, but not the words of affirmation. I'm not the best at giving compliments or expressing how I feel. It's probably something I should work on.

I read a quote last week that said "Things today may not be great, but they're not bad, and that's good." I keep reminding myself that.