Saying "I love you"

Somtimes saying those three little words, "I. Love. You.", can be extremely difficult even you're saying it to a family member.

This morning I was on the phone with my mom; I was trying to have a serious conversation with her about household and my faith.  But she continually reverted to laughing about it all and refused to realize the seriousness of it, especially in my life.

I was able to take deep breaths through the whole conversation but when it came time to hang up and she said "I love you" it was hard for me to say it back after she hadn't been taking two of the most important things in my life seriously.  I wanted so badly to say "Yep, bye.".

Knowing that saying this would not only be hurtful to my mother but would also be deliberatly refusing to carry out the Lord's will.  I removed my mind from the conversation for a moment and prayed that the Lord may give me the strength and peace to tell my mother that I love her, even though she had just deeply hurt me.  After the prayer I returned my mind to the conversation and was able to tell my mother that I love her, with peace both in my mind and in my heart.