Once upon a now ago, there was a child who longed to give his Mommy and Daddy the most special of all Valentine’s Day gifts. Though very young in years, his heart possessed LOVE many grown-ups might still be seeking.
His mind was fretting with confusion over what Valentine’s Day (worldly speaking) required of him. After all, what does one give to show he loves his Mommy and Daddy more than anything else in the whole wide world? It’s pretty hard, you know, for a little tyke to figure out grown-up traditions. But, try his hardest, he did.
A trip to the mall, surely, would do the trick. So, next time Mommy bundled him up for his umpteenth trip to “shopdom”, our little man eagerly headed toward the car. Mommy was shocked at his sudden change of behavior but didn’t question the new attitude. Instead, she whispered a prayer of gratitude: “Thank God for James Dobson and his book THE STRONG WILLED CHILD.” The Good Lord, sighed back: “If only you could see it’s not a change of behavior but an unchanging heart full of LOVE. Ah, but you will, you will.”
The mall was supposed to answer his gift giving quest. Much the opposite occurred. Imagine what our little man experienced. Throngs of big tall people, pushing and pulling, running and reaching, to get the bargain of the decade for their most loved person of the century He wondered, “How come everybody has gotta buy a bargain in order to give the most precious gift of all —LOVE????” Un Uh, the mall was no help.
What, oh what, should, or could, he do now? Mommy and Daddy always prayed when they needed answers. He’d do the same that night. And so, his nighttime prayer sort of went: “Dear God, I love my Mommy and Daddy more than all the money in the world can measure. But what can the pennies in my wooden treasure box buy to give them? I really, really want it to be the ‘bestest’ gift of all”.
Next day at school our little scholar asked his teacher what the ‘bestest’ of Valentine’s Day gifts really was. She’d have the answer; teachers know everything!!!! Warmly she smiled, while bending down to his height and offering her feeling that the rose was the most cherished Valentine’s Day gift. It was the very symbol of LOVE.
Exuberance, immediately, filled his heart. Yeah, she must be right; and he knew all about roses. Last summer, he and his Daddy had planted three rose bushes; and, like wow, they grew and grew and grew. One whole side of the house was covered with roses, and they were super beautiful. But wait; there still was a problem. Winter had destroyed the flowers. They all were gone. He didn’t have even a one to pick and give this Valentine’s Day.
A brief moment of thought, and then he decided, “I’ll buy one”. Again, he tugged his teacher’s skirt, and heartstrings. “How much does a rose cost,” he asked? “About five dollars,” she replied. With eyes as big as saucers, he gasped back, “Five dollars, you gotta be kidding!!!! We had hundreds last summer. How can anything Daddy and I grew so many of last summer cost more money than I’ve saved all winter?”
He was back to nowhere in his search for the “bestest” gift of LOVE.
Sunday morning dawned, and our little shopper was convinced there wasn’t a store in the world that held a gift with his price tag on it. As the family scurried to get ready for church, his thoughts turned to the big-boy job his Mommy had asked his help in doing. This week it was time to change the humongous banner that hung high before the “congre…” “congre…” Church Family.
Which one will it be, he wondered? As he and his Mommy carefully unfolded it, he jumped for joy. “Mommy, this is my favorite one of all. It’s purple with a crown and a tiny drop of red. I remember the story, too.” As his tiny arms struggled to hold up from the bottom what his Mommy was raising to the top, his little heart and soul understood all about Valentine’s Day.
Unquestionably, a happy little tyke headed home with his family. The car was barely stopped, when he went running to secure his treasured gift. Now his hardest task of all was to wait for Valentine’s Day to dawn. And, finally it did.
Not even out of jammies, he clutched his little wooden treasure box and ran to find Mommy and Daddy. All the while, he was chanting, “Happy Valentine’s Day; Happy Valentine’s Day, Mommy and Daddy!!!!”
With great excitement, a very blessed Mommy and Daddy peeked inside their little one’s wooden treasure box. No sooner had the lid been raised, when their son proudly proclaimed, “It’s LOVE, Mommy and Daddy. It’s LOVE!!!”
Gently, his Mommy lifted the contents from the box – a thorn-filled rose stem. No flower, no leaves. Just a thorn-filled stem.
Wholeheartedly, he continued, “I figured it out all by myself. Flowers come and go; but the thorns, they’re the LOVE part. They make it through winter storms and all. They don’t die. That’s why Jesus had a crown of thorns. He’s LOVE; and His LOVE can’t die, you know!!!”
Indeed, this little child had given the “bestest” gift of LOVE.
This story holds the message of LOVE and the gentle reminder we all are children – Children of God.
The center day of this week is Ash Wednesday.
It is, also, Valentine’s Day.
What story, this week, will the message of your LOVE write??
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 