risk the more

I've received it in cards or text messages. Had it whispered in my ear during an embrace. It's been written on my facebook wall and I've seen it on countless others.

You mean more to me than you'll ever know. 

You'll never know what a blessing you were. 

Your friendship has meant more to me than you'll ever know. 

And those sentiments always are well-meaning, and are nice to hear. But why do we say that? Why do we say "…more than you'll ever know" instead of telling them exactly what that more is and let them know! 

/When you told me I looked nice in that dress, it was the first time all day I had felt confident in my appearance. 

/Your friendship brought me out of the dark place of loneliness that I had been in for a few months. 

/When you dropped off that meal, I realized what it meant to be taken care of and loved by someone. 

/When you laugh at my jokes I feel validated as a person. 

/When I was sick, and you sat by my side, I realized what people mean when they say "in sickness and in health." 

/When you reached over and held my hand when you noticed I was crying, and then offered me a tissue, I realized it was okay to express my emotions. 

/I've always lived in great fear and trepidation of "the worst" happening, and then you lost your son and you let me watch you grieve and lament to God and I learned the meaning of C.S. Lewis' quote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains: it is his mega-phone to rouse a deaf world." And because you let me walk through that with you, I now take each of my own steps in faith and my fears are subsiding. 

/When you ignored the drivers all around us and danced to that Taylor Swift song anyway I realized what it means for someone to be truly comfortable in their own skin.

I know we mean well when we say "…more than you'll ever know." But instead, what if we risk sharing and fill cards and texts and pages and air space with the more.  

If we don't, they really won't ever know. 

Let's risk the more.