Love Whispered, Not Declared 2 Corinthians 9:11 - Personal blog of Trisha Rapley, Australian Author.

No one will ever love us exactly the way we imagine love should look. Not because they do not care, but because love does not arrive wearing one language. It speaks in many dialects—some loud, some quiet, some easily recognised, others only understood when the heart slows down long enough to notice.

One love wakes early and makes coffee, remembering how you take it without ever needing to ask. Another stands in the kitchen at night, cooking dinner after a long day, feeding more than hunger—feeding safety, routine, presence.

Another love folds the washing, makes the bed, locks the door before sleep. It tidies the corners of life we forget to tend to, whispering I care about your peace without ever forming the words I love you aloud.

And still—it is love.

We have been taught to measure love by words, by declarations spoken clearly and often. But love was never meant to live only in language.

Love lives in action, in service, in the unseen spaces where effort meets humility.

Saying “I love you” is beautiful. But so is showing it when no one is watching.

Jesus Himself did not love only with words.

He knelt.

He served.

He washed feet.

He fed the hungry.

He stayed when leaving would have been easier.

His love was not always loud, but it was always faithful.

And when two people pray together, when they bring one another before God—that, too, is “I love you.” It is saying, I care about your soul, not just your feelings. I want heaven involved in your life, not just myself.

Yet how often do we miss these holy offerings because they do not arrive wrapped the way we expected?

We call them chores.

We overlook them as obligations.

We minimise what they cost because they did not match the picture in our minds.

And slowly, without meaning to, we teach people that what they give is not enough.

Love grows weary when it is unseen. Affection dries up when effort is only met with criticism. No one has ever loved more deeply because they were made to feel inadequate.

People do not expand in shame—they shrink.

But love flourishes when it is noticed.

When the small things are named.

When gratitude replaces comparison.

When we say, I see you.

I noticed that.

Thank you for loving me the way you know how.

Recognising love does not mean ignoring needs—it means honouring what is already being given while gently teaching one another how to love better.

Because love is not a transaction. It is a relationship.

And when we learn to see the beauty in effort, to recognise service as affection, to call quiet faithfulness what it truly is—love deepens.

Hearts soften.

And connection becomes a place of safety, not performance.

Love was never meant to be perfect.

It was meant to be received.

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

2 Corinthians 9:11

Lord,

Teach me to see love the way you do.

Help me recognise devotion in the small acts, faithfulness in quiet service, and care in the things done without announcement. Remove the scales from my eyeswhere expectation has blinded me to effort.

Forgive me for the times I focused on what was missing instead of giving thanks for what was freely given. Soften my heart where comparison has crept in and replaced gratitude.

Teach me to honour the ways others love, even when it looks different from how I love. Let me speak life into effort, encouragement into service, and appreciation into faithfulness.

Make my love a place where others feel safe to give, not afraid to fall short. Let my gratitude reflect Your heart—one that sees, values, and cherishes the smallest offering.

May I love as you love, Lord—not only in words, but in patience, humility, and grace.

Amen.

Love Whispered, Not Declared 2 Corinthians 9:11 - Personal blog of Trisha Rapley, Australian Author.

Love Whispered, Not Declared 2 Corinthians 9:11 - Personal blog of Trisha Rapley, Australian Author.