Parking Tickets & Blown Away Balloons
Love Notes
The first thing I notice about her is the ash cross on her forehead as I’m getting ready to leave the café friends and I were enjoying Valentine crepes at this morning.
She starts talking to me as we walk out the door, instantly bemoaning, “I’m a Christian and I’m a born-again believer, but I’m leaving this place earlier than planned because they are holding a Bible Study in there and they are just being too loud for such a small place. It’s annoying. I told them that I did not appreciate it.”
What she doesn’t know is that a lot of the guys regularly attending the Bible Study are young in the faith and this opportunity is giving them space to ask questions without judgment. I’m not sure what to say to her, or perhaps, what I really want to say is antithetical to the godly spirit I am trying to carry. “The cafe’s owner leads the study, so I’m sure he is fine with it. I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day,” I reply as I gather the girls and head to my car.
At the car, I snatch a parking ticket from underneath my wipers, looking at the time it was given. “Luis, I thought you paid the metered parking for me when I asked you to,” I say when I call him. I’m tempted to be upset and snarky about his lack of follow-thru. Turns out, he had gotten distracted and never completed the payment on the app. I make the choice to laugh about it and joke that it is my Valentine’s card. It certainly was a pricier pick than any red, pink, and cliché option from Target would have been. The forgetfulness has nothing to do with our love for each other.
I quietly hum the melody of the song, “They Will Know We are Christians By Our Love” as I move throughout the day.
When I look up the lyrics to the song, I’m struck by the overwhelming spirit of unity in it - “one in the Spirit…work side by side…guard each man’s dignity…save each man’s pride..” (Scholtes, 1966). What speaks more to unity than love? If love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), shouldn’t it cover annoyances and irritation? Shouldn’t love look beyond the external to recognize that there are internal workings that we cannot see?
Earlier I spotted an escaped Valentine’s balloon blowing gustily above buildings, like a message in the sky about not allowing flimsy assumptions and helium-heightened expectations to snatch love away. Keep the strings attached.
Everyday Love Notes Love laughs over parking tickets and minor miscommunications. Love washes food-crusted dishes and loads dirt-crusted laundry. Love picks up scattered toys, again and again and again. Love smiles at a grumbly person and gestures You first. Love takes deep breaths before responding to incessant questions. Love kisses invisible boo-boos and wipes poopy bottoms. Love does not get jealous over people's social media posts. Love sits face-to-face and has arduous conversations. Love sends encouragement in the currency of coffee money and surprise packages. Love lights birthday candles and makes giant chocolate chip cookies. Love fizzles and fights and flickers and flames. Love never fails.
I love Valentine’s Day because it’s a reminder of the gift love is to us - all different forms of love. I love committing random acts of kindness for friends and strangers - trying to truly see people. I loved surprising Jael with Valentine-themed peg dolls and a homemade coloring activity - the little touch of mom magic in a day. I’ve loved both married and single Galentine’s with the ladies - homemade steak dinners and going out for drinks and chocolate-covered strawberry crepes. I love Luis and how funny cards (both intentional and accidental) are becoming a theme from him. I can, and do, buy myself flowers, chocolate, and coffee. True love comes when we walk in community, giving of ourselves and accepting what others give in return.
Happy Valentine’s Day! You are loved!
Valentines Making Me Laugh
