BY THE WAY, I LOVE YOU!”

 By Michael L. Alumbaugh © 2024

“Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves eyes.” ~ Song of Solomon 1:15

My Bride of 40+ years and I were doing some last minute grocery shopping in the late afternoon one day in mid-February. As we wandered through the store we observed men, mostly young to middle-aged, hustling and bustling up one isle and down another. As we passed by the nearly customer packed floral department, it finally occurred to us what was going on. It was the evening of the 14^th_, Valentine’s Day!

The department staff looked a bit frazzled as they assisted all these men with their bouquet selection. The stock was dwindling rapidly! There wasn’t a man there that looked starry eyed or even joyful at the opportunity to embrace a loving present proclaiming their love and devotion to their  “significant other.” It was like “Let’s getter done and get out’a here!” or “Hey, that’ll do. Just hand it over!”

We had to laugh as we left the area. Thankfully I’d gotten something for my wife a day or two before and had presented it to her at breakfast, as was my custom. Sometimes I’d even give her something the day before, especially if an event were included for the “day of.”

I felt a bit sad for the guys out there.. We men do get a bit busy with the day to day work grind and forget things, even important things. But it seemed to me, this wasn’t a priority with most them judging by the expressions on their faces. It was just a duty to perform to fill in the blank, and very little if any heart in it. They appeared to be about as romantic, or impassioned toward their wives as a sore toe. Like they’re saying, “Oh, by the way, I love you!” and off they go to something else, leaving her in the dust.

What they seemed to lack was devotion, or a heart of genuine gratitude toward their life partners, better known as their Brides.    It isn’t an unusual problem but rather a rather common one that goes back thousands of years. In the years following Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5 points out this weakness by reflecting it against Jesus’ commitment to all of us. It reads;

 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27

Proverbs 18:22 says, “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord.” Now, that strikes me as a strong motive for thinking ahead! But it begs the question: What do you treasure? Does she see it in you on a daily basis or just occasionally when your back is up against the wall?

We might need to rethink our commitment to our eternal Father in the same way. Do we treasure things more than our relationship with Him? He left the glory of heaven, became and man, and died for your sins (Philippians 2:5-8). Or do we just warm the pews on Sunday or Easter and Christmas as our way of saying "By the way, I love you!"?

Are you doing the same thing to your spouse or willing to show your love to them moment by moment, day in and day out?

     Dig a Little Deeper: Song of Solomon 4:7, 5:12; Malachi 2:13-15; 1 Peter 3:7

Published in the March 2024 issue of Black River Times

 

"SNOW ANGELS!"

  By Michael L. Alumbaugh © 2024

 

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” ~ Philippians 2:3-4

 It was the first week into January! We’d come home in rain mixed with snow the night before, which isn’t unusual for Kansas. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t like the weather in Kansas, wait a little bit and it will change.” And it did. During the night the wind blew and the soggy flakes hitting the windows left over 3 inches of snow on everything and below zero blustery conditions by morning.

 Once it was daybreak, I took in the exquisite beauty. Everything was coated in white fluffy ice covered snow. But that meant the driveway needed clearing. I suited up in thermals, jeans, a warm thick sweater, swung a wool scarf around my neck, pulled on my coat, some gloves and ball cap, then headed out the front door.

 The wind had stilled. All was quiet. The snow glistened in the early morning sunlight. Pure white made everything look fresh and new. I grabbed my snow shovel and a broom and went to work.

 Within a few minutes my fingers were numb. I’d grabbed the wrong gloves. Returning to the house to warm up again and switch gloves, I was greeted by the sounds and smells of my wife cooking in the kitchen; the crackling of bacon frying, pancakes and eggs cooking away, and some much needed warmth.

 After a lengthy search, I found some warmer gloves and scooted back out to shovel more snow. As I finished around the cars, my son showed up with a shovel and broom in hand and began clearing off the vehicles. Within a few minutes we had pretty well opened a path to get out if necessary. Our next-door neighbors were busy clearing their drive as well. Exchanging greetings and small talk, they’d said the highways were closed and they wouldn’t be going to work, but were both on call..

 Placing my attention back on our drive,  I concentrated on the last bits of scrapping the snow into the street, As I finished I noticed the neighbors had disappeared. Then, my son. Looking around, I spotted them all headed across the street to another neighbors house to clear out her drive.

 She was a widowed lady and had a few health issues, though she seldom outwardly showed any signs of struggle with them. During the summer you’d see her out mowing or gardening, pruning her bushes or walking her dogs. But today there’d been no sign of any activity from her. I joined in the labors of love clearing her drive, assuming she must be gone.

 The four of us laughed and chatted away as we flung shovel loads of snow off the drive. Weary from a job well-done, we headed to our homes for a much needed warm up and hot breakfast.

 Once our sufficiency was suffonsified by the hearty breakfast, we set about doing our daily chores; washing dishes, sorting clothes, etc. After about an hour or so the doorbell rang. My son answered as I continued drying dishes. Hearing a stranger’s voice, I wandered over to see who it was. It was our neighbor lady all bundled up from across the street.

 “I just came over to thank you all for clearing my driveway.” she said, smiling. “You are all so special! I was thinking of you all as “Snow Angels.”” And with that, she reached out, handed my son a Tupperware bowl, turned and walked home.

 As he closed the door, I asked, “What was that all about?”

 “That was the lady we scrapped the driveway for.” He opened the lid. It was a fresh baked batch of chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies. I took the bowl and set it on the kitchen counter. They were still warm. As my son dug in I stepped to the front window to see where she’d gone. There she was, at our next door neighbor’s handing them a batch of cookies and returning to her house.

 Her gesture of kindness warmed not only our tummies but our hearts. It reminded me of Jesus instructions in Matthew 6:4, “[Give in such a way that] your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” Indeed, He had! Be a snow angel and remember, God our Father always rewards sincere selflessness in reaching out to others in need.

 

     Dig a Little Deeper: Proverbs 3:27, 11:25; Matthew 6:1; Colossians 3:23-24

 Published in the February 2024 issue of Black River Times