🥢 When “I Love You” Isn’t Spoken — But Still Heard
🥢 When “I Love You” Isn’t Spoken — But Still Heard
I married into a culture where love is quiet.
Where it’s plated on the table, not proclaimed in the air.
Where a steaming bowl of rice means “I care,”
and a perfectly sliced piece of fruit says, “I’m watching over you.”
For me—raised in a Western world where “I love you” rolls off the tongue daily—
this was a whole different love language.
And it took me years to learn how to hear it.
🍚 Love Served Hot
In my wife’s world (and in much of Asia), love is shown, not shouted.
You don’t say it—you do it.
You work hard. You put the kids through school. You give the best cut of meat away without saying a word.
The Confucian roots run deep—love as duty, as steadfast responsibility.
Not romance in fireworks, but the steady glow of a lantern that never goes out.
💬 Our Words vs. His Ways
Western culture says:
“If you love me, tell me.”
But Heaven sometimes says:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
The Savior’s love works the same way.
Sometimes we hear Him say, “I love you.”
Other times… we only see it.
The healing. The mercy. The sunrise you didn’t expect.
The peace that comes when you should be falling apart.
The Nemenhah teach:
“He goes before His people and they do not always hear His voice, but they walk in His light.”
And the Book of Mormon says:
“Ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:7) —
even when His words aren’t in your ears, His presence is still in your steps.
❤️ My Own Family Shift
When my wife and I married, I kept waiting for the words.
She’d just smile and keep serving.
At first, I thought maybe she didn’t feel it like I did.
Now I realize—her love was there, full and overflowing—
just spoken in a language I didn’t yet understand.
It’s the same with the Savior.
Sometimes we demand a direct answer, a clear sign.
And instead… we just get the blanket of peace at night.
The bread in the cupboard.
The friend who calls at the exact right moment.
That’s Him saying, “I love you.”
🌱 Generations Are Blending — So Can We
Younger Asians are starting to mix the verbal and the visible.
The same is true in our walk with Christ.
Some days, He whispers clearly. Other days, His love is in the quiet provisions.
And both are equally real.
Like the Nemenhah say:
“The Peacemaker is not far from you. If you cannot hear His words, walk in the goodness He has given you, and you will find Him again.”
👂 Learning to Hear the Love
Love doesn’t have to be loud to be real.
And the Savior doesn’t have to speak out loud to be present.
If you’re not hearing Him today—look for Him.
He’s still there in the sunrise, in the breath in your lungs,
in the way you somehow made it through another day.
Don’t mistake His silence for absence.
His love might just be on your table,
waiting for you to take and eat.
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