Time has a way of providing wisdom and perspective, often gained by experience. One of the areas in which our wisdom grows is in understanding how much we have been loved by our parents, and others. Looking back over the years has a way of sharpening the clarity of how their actions, words and decisions came from their love for us, even though at the time we experienced them we may not have understood.

I think this is particularly true regarding our parents. As we become the age that our parents were, we can better understand how they juggled the stresses of finances, marriage, children, jobs, illness and the myriad of other challenges that life brings. We can better see the sacrifices and the difficulty of the decisions they made. In hindsight, made more clear by our own experiences, we see how their love for us was shown in subtle and profound actions, small and grand decisions, and words said or unspoken. We need but pause and reflect to see their love. Sadly, sometimes the clearest views come when we can no longer see them or be with them.

The same is true for our Father’s love. It is the passing of time, the gaining of humility, the lessons of experiences that reveal to us how His love and grace have strengthened, shaped, guided, protected, taught and transformed us. I see this as akin to the whittler who patiently removes from a piece of wood the elements that keep it from becoming what he intends it to be. We cannot “see” Him in those times, but we can recognize His love.

Our Father sacrificed his Son for our salvation; He has spoken to us through divinely inspired words in the Bible and has been silent in some of our challenging times; He has whispered to us and He has communicated to us through others.

Maybe as we come to understand, we can realize how truly loved we are.