Little Love Offerings
A few months ago, my five-year-old came home with a scrap of paper. I mean that quite literally: a scrap of paper. She had rolled it into a miniature scroll and presented it to me with great enthusiasm. “Here Mommy,” she said. “I made this for you today!” As I unrolled the scroll, I saw a series of shapes. Squares, triangles, circles, rectangles—all things she had been practicing in school for the past few weeks. “Thank you honey,” I said. “I love it.” And we moved on with our evening.
As I put her to bed, I asked her about her “highs and lows,” the best and worst parts of her day. I don’t remember what she said about the worst part, but the best I will remember: “The shape scroll Mommy. That was the best part of my day.”
I was so touched by her perception of that gift and a little convicted by my own. I didn’t think it was a big deal. Just another little note among the many other little love offerings she gives me. I would never have known how much it meant to her if I hadn’t paid attention and asked her about it. The way she put so much love into something so “little” made me think about how we love one another. I pulled a few lessons from this experience.
Lesson 1: Don’t Let Effort, Size, or Expense Distract You from Noticing
It is now several months later, and I still can’t tell you why that purple-markered line of shapes means more than any other note she’s ever given me. It was not bigger, it did not require more effort, and it was not even the best work she’s ever brought home. But for whatever reason, the care she put into it that day made it valuable to her and, thus, a meaningful gift to me. It stays on my refrigerator as a reminder that I shouldn’t simply bypass the little love offerings my children give me, no matter how insignificant they may seem.
On a bigger scale, it has also reminded me to check myself regarding the efforts and gifts others offer me. This pandemic has caused many people to not able to care, do, or be together in ways they normally take for granted. Moreover, the economic impact, along with the mental health stress, has made it so that many people literally can’t give or care in ways they normally would. It’s a good lesson for us to pause when people offer us even the “littlest” gift or care. It may be all they are able to give. If we can recognize it and receive it with love, it may end up being the best part of their day—and ours as well.
Lesson 2: Don’t Let Effort, Size, or Expense Keep You from Engaging
This lesson, similar to the first, is aimed more at our own efforts. The impact of the pandemic has not only caused necessary physical distancing, but also mental and emotional distancing. Because of the impact or restrictions of our current situation, many of us can’t care for others the way we want to. And if we struggle with perfectionism or control at all (ahem) then we just quit instead of adapting.
If this has been your attitude at times during the past year, I encourage you to reevaluate. Sometimes, it is simply our own pride that keeps us from doing the “little” thing: sending a text when we really want to visit, attending an important or valuable virtual event because we want to be there in person, or offering “just” a birthday card when we don’t have the money for a gift. Sometimes, we let standards for effort, size, and expense keep us from the simple goal of love and connection.
There’s something to be learned from the children in these strange days. Something about the simplicity and abundance they find in little acts of love. Our grown-up brains get affected by the consumer-centric, social-media-driven, abundance-is-best culture. This can not only keep us from noticing little acts of love offered to us, it can also keep us from making little love offerings to one another out of the mistaken belief that they aren’t “enough.”
My dear journey(wo)men, let us not miss our opportunities in these strange, seemingly limiting days. May we tune our eyes, ears, and hearts to recognize when someone is offering us something important. Allow ourselves to be willing to also offer love in “little” ways as God prompts, even if it is not our typical offering.
Remember, God has always been pleased with our little, especially if little is all we have. May he bless all our little love offerings this month.
is an author, speaker, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist and veteran coach’s wife. She and her husband Tim have two children and are passionate about reaching people for Christ and sharing information on coaching, marriage, family, and mental health. Read more from Anne at www.annerulo.com.
Photograph © Loli Clement, used with permission
