Guest post by Sarah Ives- Christian wife, mom, friend and Independent Consultant for Lilla Rose
I love the excitement of children; the way enthusiasm gushes from them as they anticipate what is to come. On the morning of Valentine’s Day, my little ones were certainly gushing—practically bursting, in fact—with anticipation! My husband and I had decided that we would spend the evening at home with our children, instead of going out (which we’ve typically done in the past). We were going to decorate the house, prepare a “fancy” meal (with fancy dishes nonetheless), wear “fancy” clothes, and celebrate our love for each other and for our heavenly father. The buildup was practically too much for their little bodies to handle.
My husband had hardly shut the door behind him when two sets of running feet pattered my way. My oldest son burst out, “Daddy’s going to bring you a surprise!!” He couldn’t contain himself. The excitement had exploded! So much for all that self-control we’d been working with him on, huh? My sweet 2 year old, who now thinks the beans are spilled, gets as close as she can get to my chair, her eyes wide as saucers and mouths—because she knows she’s not supposed to be telling–“Roses!” I explain that it was probably not something they were supposed to tell me, but nonetheless chuckle under my breath—I’m excited about tonight too!
The children and I spent the rest of day preparing for our evening festivities and in the late afternoon my hubby arrived with a beautiful arrangement of red roses. I know, shocking, right? I thanked him and suggested that perhaps next time he not let the kids in on his secrets.
An hour or so later, I’m getting ready to get dressed for our “fancy” dinner, when I hear excited footsteps approaching again. This time, my sweet girl is in the lead and in her arms is a beautiful, arrangement of roses—these are yellow! She eagerly gives them to me and says, “These are from brother and me! From money from our own piggy banks!” She is so excited she is giggling. Her heart is bursting with all that she and her brother had planned for me. I take both the children in my arms and thank them profusely for thinking of me. For sacrificing money from their own piggy banks, that they could have used to buy toys for themselves, to show their mother love on Valentine’s Day.
At dinner that night, I put a Bible verse on Love on each of our plates and we took turns reading them (minus the 2 yr. old whose was read by Daddy and the baby who was just happy to be eating baked potato). We talked about what the Bible says about Love; about how our Heavenly Father loves us and how much He smiles when we love each other by doing selfless things. How putting aside what we want and caring for others first is pleasing to God.
My tiny children had shown me a perfect example that day of sacrificial love: of a love that was truly a selfless action. Their love was so much more excited about lovingly caring for me than about themselves. It was pure, selfless and sweet and I know the Lord was rejoicing in their deeds.
