Actions may speak louder than words, but words still speak.

It's a known fact that flowers make women smile. The sending-flowers-phenomenon is hard to fully understand really because 1) They are expensive, 2) They have a short life expectancy, and 3) They don't really DO anything; they don't provide any sort of service to whom they are given.

Everyone knows the phrase, "Actions speak louder than words." My mom spoke those words to me the first time a boy treated me with disrespect after an awful break-up. A good friend approached me and said the phrase after I had said something to publicly humiliate her in front of a group of our friends. And my Sunday school teacher offered it as a piece of wisdom to encourage sinning adolescents. All-in-all "actions speak louder than words" has a sort of negative connotation. Someone was done wrong. And action should be taken to reconcile a relationship.

Here lately, I'm not sure that "actions speak louder than words" is a 100% completely full-proof statement. What have we done to make "words" less authentic than actions? And why can the two not be combined to offer the BEST way to settle squabbles? Better yet, how can we get to a place where "words" and "actions" work together to be something good? Something validating. Something positive. Something that makes people smile.

Flowers aren't delivered alone. They are usually accompanied by a small card that peeks over the top of the pedals. That small card attaches "words" to "action." It ties what is being given to what is being said. And what is being said originates from the thoughts about and emotions for the receiver directly from the giver.

I watched "Love Happens" tonight, and you can probably guess the movie is a romantic comedy. The main female character, Eloise, makes flower arrangements in her shop. In the film, she refers to the messages attached to flowers as "life on a 3x5 card." That's exactly what it is. People don't just buy flowers to give to just anyone. People buy flowers for loved ones. For the most important people in their lives. For the ones they have something to say. Sure, sending them is an action, but giving them is a message. So, how do you sum up a lifetime of love on one 3x5 card? The answer: you can't. But the point is that you try.