The holiday of love took place this past week — Valentine’s Day. I think you would have to live in a cave in the USA to not have known what was happening on February 14 — love was everywhere. Even our rough and gruff Human Resources director sheepishly left the office, telling me that he might be a bit long at lunch because he was taking his wife out to eat — for LOVE. I had to razz him about that, of course. If you look long enough, you’ll find the soft side to a man.
However, it was not in a grown man that I saw the greatest demonstration of love that day, but in a very short, not-so-grown 3-year-old one, who blew me away. The love was not directed at me, but I had the privilege of witnessing its expression in the act.
As I was talking with the two women who work in our Youth Services Department at the library, a young man named Garrison walks in with his mom and comes straight to the ladies. He looks up from his disadvantaged position on the ground and sticks out a card for each of them. “I made you a Valentine’s card,” he said, with a smile on his face.
Of course, the ladies reacted with appropriate appreciation and awe at the beautiful cards. “Oh, it says, ‘I love you'” read Laura. “No,” says Garrison, “it says ‘I heart you'” — since the word love was replaced with a well-drawn heart. “Of course it does,” she replied. “Thank you, Garrison”.
I told Garrison that it was very kind of him to show his love to Ms. Laura and Ms. Mindy, and that he must enjoy story time very much. He looked up at me, only knowing that I possibly also worked in the library, and said: “I’ll make you one too!” Oh, the giving nature of the young.
As I later took a peak at the story time activities, I could spot Garrison on the front row as they all danced to a fun tune, making a heart shape with his hands toward Ms. Mindy. For sure, love was in the air at the library.
I am taken aback at how God allows us to have such experiences, whether they are geared toward us or not, to remind us of the great truths of the Kingdom. What was it that Jesus said about the little children? “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).
Adults…they just want to know who will be the greatest. Even the disciples dared to ask who would be the greatest in the Kingdom. But Jesus’ answer had to have shocked them: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4).
Do I have the love of a child for my Lord? A love that says … with all my HEART I’m yours?
May nothing hinder that childlike love to flow between me and Jesus.
Grace and Peace