{"id":4668,"date":"2017-07-08T13:35:53","date_gmt":"2017-07-08T13:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.imagoafrica.co.za\/?p=4668"},"modified":"2017-07-08T13:35:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-08T13:35:53","slug":"6-phrases-important-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imagoafrica.co.za\/for-professionals\/6-phrases-important-love\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Phrases More Important Than, \u201cI Love You\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI love you.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s one of the most sought after phrases in the world. The things people will do to hear someone say, \u201cI love you\u201d have surprised us in countless stories, movies and songs. The things people will do for someone who loves them are equally as astounding.<\/p>\n

Why do we love hearing, \u201cI love you\u201d so much? Maybe its the promise of holding a place in someone\u2019s heart, or the awakening knowledge of a new significance you hold in someone\u2019s life. Often it\u2019s the phrase expressed before a relationship takes it\u2019s next step<\/a>, the expression that one is loved for all their silly quirks, for their looks, for their heart, or for who they are (the good, the bad, and the imperfection). People thrive off that idea, that they are enough, that they are someone\u2019s everything.<\/p>\n

We love to be loved<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

So why then is love such a complicated thing? Why do people who say they love each other split? Why do marriages end? Why are love songs sometimes sad? Why do broken hearts exist? How can a person who was once your everything, become a stranger, or even an enemy?<\/p>\n

Is it because love is ultimately bad? Or even a fleeting feeling, that only some people are lucky enough to experience forever?<\/p>\n

I believe in love. I believe in its strength and significance in relationships. But I have also learned that love isn\u2019t always enough. You need more than love to make a relationship work<\/a>. Love starts many great romances, but love alone won\u2019t make a relationship last forever.<\/p>\n

There are six phrases that I think are as important, and possibly more important than \u201cI love you.\u201d Phrases that I think we should all hear from those we are close to. Phrases that should be as important to us as a declaration of love.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Six phrases more important than I love you<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1. \u201cI forgive you.\u201d
\nI forgive you for all the things have done, or will do, that may hurt me. I forgive the way you may lash out when you are hungry, I forgive the things you may say when you\u2019re tired after a long day. I forgive the times you didn\u2019t even know you upset me. I forgive your big mistakes and the small ones. I forgive you for not knowing what I needed when I thought you would, or even expected you to know. I forgive you when you fall short, because I see how hard you are trying. I forgive you the way I hope you\u2019ll forgive me because I know neither of us our perfect.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cI\u2019ll sacrifice for you.\u201d
\nI\u2019ll sacrifice my time for you. I\u2019ll be selfless for you. I\u2019ll stay up late with you as you learn to care for our new baby, even though I have work in the morning. I\u2019ll hold you when you\u2019re sick. When you are weak, I will be your strength. I\u2019ll be there for you at 3am as readily as I would at 7pm. I\u2019ll be there when no one else is, and I\u2019ll be there 100%. In sickness and in health, my willingness to be there won\u2019t change. My sacrifice is not dependent on your state of being, but rather it is there because you exist and you are someone worth sacrificing for.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cI respect you.\u201d
\nI respect you for who you are, and not for what I feel you deserve. I respect you because you deserve my respect, not because you earned it. I\u2019ll respect your opinions and consider your feelings. I\u2019ll treat you like a person with your own thoughts, hopes, dreams and\u00a0desires. And those thoughts, hopes, dreams, and desires will matter to me the way they matter to you.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cI\u2019ll support you.\u201d
\nI\u2019ll support your hopes and your dreams. I will always have your back. You can rely on me. I\u2019ll raise you up and never tear you down. I\u2019ll always make sure you have what you need, physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. I\u2019ll lift you back up when you fall.<\/p>\n

5. \u201cI\u2019ll protect you.\u201d
\nI\u2019ll protect you from harm. I\u2019ll protect your heart from pain. I\u2019ll protect the idea of us. I won\u2019t demean you. I\u2019ll treasure you and shield you from evil, bad and ugly. I won\u2019t let others put you down. You will be safe in my arms, safe in my hands and safe in my heart. I\u2019ll be your safe haven, your safety net, and someone you can always trust.<\/p>\n

6. \u201cI\u2019m committed to you.\u201d
\nI won\u2019t leave you. I will be here for you again and again. I\u2019ll make this work a priority in my life. I\u2019ll look back on our beginning, I\u2019ll work on our now and I\u2019ll look forward to our future because we are something that I want to last forever.<\/p>\n

Choose to be with someone who gives more than just three words<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some may argue that if you love someone, all these things will be part of that love. That someone who loves you automatically sacrifices for you, respects you, forgives you, supports you, protects you and is committed to you.<\/p>\n

In an ideal, perfect world, I truly believe that all these attributes come together as one and are expressed through pure and unconditional charity. It is a trait we should all strive to develop. But from my experience, we are human, and we fall short of this perfection \u2014 even towards those we love.<\/p>\n

If true love was all that we needed, love wouldn\u2019t be so hard and relationships wouldn\u2019t fall apart so easy.<\/p>\n

The truth is there are lot of people you can love, but very few relationships that you can make last forever. That\u2019s why a person is capable of loving someone more than life, but knowing deep inside that it would never work. That is why people are capable of walking away from those they love. That is why someone can give up a life full of love for a single moment of weak and selfish pleasure. That is why people lie, steal and cheat to, from and on those they love.<\/p>\n

I have loved a lot of people, but I am not with those people. I am with the man who gave me more than love. I am with the man who looked past my mistakes. I am with the man who sacrificed for me. I am with a man who honors and respects me. I am with a man who takes care of me in more ways than one. I am with someone who makes me feel safe and secure. I am with someone who I know will love me through the thick and the thin, who hasn\u2019t left nor will leave me when time are tough.<\/p>\n

I am with the man who was more than an \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
Natasha Craig<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Wife, Mother and Blogger<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

A young\"\", happily married, mommy of one, Natasha Craig firmly believes in real-life fairy tales. She loves long walks, ice cream cones, and spending time with her little family. She has always loved words and enjoys blogging her unique views on life, love, marriage, and the joys of motherhood.<\/p>\n

Connect with Natasha Craig
\nFacebook:\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/natashacraiga<\/a>
\nInstagram:\u00a0http:\/\/instagram.com\/alwaystashi<\/a>
\nTwitter:\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/NatashaJCraig<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI love you.\u201d   It’s one of the most sought after phrases in the world. The things people will do to hear someone say, \u201cI love you\u201d have surprised us in countless stories, movies and songs. The things people will do for someone who loves them are equally as astounding. Why do we love hearing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n6 Phrases More Important Than, \u201cI Love You\u201d - Imago Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imagoafrica.co.za\/for-professionals\/6-phrases-important-love\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Phrases More Important Than, \u201cI Love You\u201d - Imago Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI love you.\u201d   It’s one of the most sought after phrases in the world. 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