The Sweetest Gift

When asked, "how many boys do you have?" my usual reply is "4".  In truth, I have 3 boys and a husband.  Many times my hubby is the instigator of the boyish antics.  If he didn't start it, he will encourage the chaos.  I've learned to roll my eyes and accept it.  He's teaching them to love through play.  He teaches them a lot about love.  Specifically, he models how to love me.  It sounds selfish to say that out loud, but I know someday those lessons will be applied to their own wives & children.

This quiet truth was pressed into my heart while sitting in the roar of the food court the other day. The holiday season seemed to team around us with selfishness & excess, and we had stopped to observe it all while enjoying gelato.  Reaching the end of his cone, my husband had just the pointy tip left. Without a word he handed me the last little bit and kissed my cheek. It's my favorite part. In the overwhelming noise, my world stopped in a hushed moment.  A selfless moment in which love sang it's clear notes.  The moment was swept up into an overture as each of the boys followed suit and gave me their final, sweet bite. 

Selflessness is the sweetest gift.  Its a gift that shapes the future of little boys turned to men.  It's a gift that turns hearts toward their Creator.  It's an eternal gift.  It makes me think of another hushed moment; one so full of the greatest love that the air was thick with it.  In the stillness of night, God gives His best to His beloved - His bride.  It's announced in reverent tones to shepherds and then proclaimed in a glorious chorus.  The young woman's cries of child birth are a prelude to the song of salvation to come.  All of creation is tuned for this one moment in history as the humble Messiah enters the world with the solo of selfless love.    

God loves you.  You are His beloved, His bride.  He has given His best for you.  He has given the sweetest gift.