Fillin' the Tank

Pastor Greg really knocked it out of the park this weekend. The message was fantastic. Tremendous. Amazing. Man, I hope he reads this.

During the service, we had an incredibly uncomfortable moment...we were supposed to stand up and hug a complete stranger. Somehow this was supposed to make us feel good. I hugged SuperHubby and sat down very quickly. It wasn't bad.

This little display got me to thinking: I really don't hug people enough. Okay, I really don't hug people. But I started Saturday after church. And it wasn't too terrible.

The first person I saw was Doodles. That was easy. I could hug Doodles all day long. The HugFest continued for quite some time ... and I didn't die or barf or anything.

This was becoming a pretty cool "out of the box" experience. At dinner, I went outside the comfort zone and grabbed SuperHubby's hand. For no reason. And then he comes out with, "You know, that's my love language...physical touch." (Yeah, like I needed that update)

I've been thinking about the 5 love languages a lot this weekend. For those living under a rock, the 5 love languages are: Food, Jewelry, Football, Sex and The "Hey Baby" Principal (also known as "You're so sweet, I'm gettin' a toothache just lookin' at you!").

SuperHubby's LL is physical touch (sex). Mine are acts of service (food) and words of affirmation (Hey, Baby). And if you can't figure it out, the other 2 are gifts (jewelry) and quality time (football). Those don't factor high on my list.

So I've been thinking about how we stack up differently around our house. SuperHubby likes touch. I don't touch anyone or anything I don't have to. At least I didn't before Saturday. How is it that I've missed this important tidbit for 16 years? And the odd thing is...SuperHubby is the ONE person I love holding hands with, hugging, patting on the butt, high fiving, whatever.

What says love to me? Mowing the lawn. Doing the dishes. Cooking me dinner. Rubbing my back (sounds contradictory, but it's true). Telling me "Well done" or "Good job" or "You're the best assistant ever."

I've read the book a million times. I've practically got it memorized. But I wasn't following through. And not just with SuperHubby, but with my friends, too. Both of them. I tend to send cards to let them know I'm thinking of them, but is that speaking in their Love Langauge, or mine? Should I be doing things differently?

If you see a maniac running around hugging people, it might be me. It might not. I'm not going to hug people I don't like. That's just not honest. But I will make a conscious effort not to shudder with disgust each and every time someone wraps their arms around me.