O Lord, You are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help.” Psalm 86:5
It was a small thing that said a big thing. The other night, my wife Judy was folding a load of clothes that she had done. It’s one of those things that I sometimes forget to say “thank-you” for. She had stepped into her role as what we call at 217 the “Underwear Fairy.” It all came from the fact that my drawer of undies just magically seems to stay full and neatly folded. Well, as she folded, I said something about time and with a twinkle in her eye she told me to stay put and then left the room…something told me there was another love note coming.
Soon she returned with her hand behind her back. From there she produced a small hourglass that was not filled with sand but iron filings. The base contained a magnet and as the filing fell from the top to the bottom, they took on different shapes as they came under the influence of the magnet. It was a gadget and Judy knows I love gadgets. It was special, it was thoughtful, and it was a love note. You see love notes are those small things that someone who loves you does just because…and she sends a lot of love notes and I love her for it.
I have learned, at least for me, it often isn’t the big things that she does that rings my bell. No, it is often the small things. I remember one time, knowing I had a difficult meeting at work, she went to the grocery store and bought a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. Now, in case you don’t know, Ben and Jerry’s is expensive and it is not healthy. In fact, you might say that it is a heart attack in a pint container. Laying that aside, she chose to send a love note. Oh, and it was delicious.
She is not the only one who sends me love notes. Oh no, I have another admirer and He outdoes even my wife. He is Creator God but my term of endearment for Him is “Dearest Daddy.” As the title implies, He is my Heavenly Father and I, well, I am one of His kids. God does a lot of big things for a lot of people but for me often it is the small things…the things that He does that simply say, “I love you.” I call them love notes and I love them because they help show me how much He cares for me.
What does a love note look like? Well, they are as varied as the minutes in a day but let me tell you about a special one. A few days ago, we were going to a concert with one of our kids and their kids…aka grandkids. We were going to drive Judy’s car and spend the night. Now Judy’s car has one of those fancy things where you don’t need to insert a key into the ignition you just mash a button. It’s really kind of cool. The deal is…you must have a key on you to make it work. So, she has a key but it is just convenient if I have a key too. Well, I realized I had forgot to pick up my key, so I stopped in the drive way and went to get mine and it was…gone. Bummer.
I did a quick search of all the suspected places it could be all to no avail. I went back to the car and Judy went and looked too. Nada. We went ahead and left but this was really on my brain. You see, this was one of those three-hundred-dollar keys. I had Judy call a couple of places we had gone the night before just in case they were turned in. They weren’t. All the way to my kid’s house and through the evening this would pop in my brain. Nothing made sense and nothing rang a bell in my brain.
Well, the next day we got back home, and I looked again in all the places and it just wasn’t there. I was disappointed but figured I had done all that I could do, and trust me that was pretty good for me since I tend to get frustrated…especially when it involves replacing a three-hundred-dollar key. So, for some reason, I walked over the counter/desk where I usually put my keys, wallet, etc. And then…it happened. We have a small chair there and something said, “Look in the chair.” So, I slid the chair out and there lay the lost key. Boom. Love note. And, just in case you are wondering, yes, the first words out of my mouth were, “Thank you Father.”
So, you probably know this, but today’s big truth is twofold. First, yes, God loves you. If you can’t yet call Him Father, He would love to fix that. Talk to someone or Google it. Second, make every day a good day to look for His love notes. They are all around…we just need to learn to recognize them. Rather than assuming something is a coincidence or accident…just look through the lens of God’s love and you will see them all around.
The Psalms in the Old Testament part of the Bible contains a whole bunch of love notes. Psalm 86:5 is a good one, “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.” And trust me He wants you to be a part of His family and He wants to flood your “mailbox” with love notes. So, look around, and you will discover a world full of heavenly notes and each one is also a reminder that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 