Love is simple, really. Sometimes it just takes a minute to show just a little extra love. Like the day not too long ago that after getting my little muffin girl out of her crib, we sat together on the rocking chair for nearly 15 minutes and just rocked. I gave her a tickle on her arms and legs and face and she sat absolutely motionless. It was a tender experience for me and I thought how sad it would have been if I had passed over this opportunity and rushed off to the next activity on my to-do list.
Or the day when instead of rushing off to get myself ready, I sat a few extra minutes with my sweetheart on the couch as he studied his scriptures. He put his arm around me and I snuggled into him. How tragic if I had missed this small moment of joy.
Or yesterday when my Little Bug was having a hard, tearful day. He wouldn’t talk to me at all about what was bothering him, but just laid on the floor all melancholy. I prayed as I do every time I have no idea how to reach my little ones’ hearts, asking the Father what I should do. And then an idea came. “Mommy really needs to blow her nose, it feels all stuffy. But what should I use to blow my nose?” No response came from the sad little pile on the floor. So I continued. “Maybe…I should use my hairbrush to blow my nose! Is that a good idea?” A little grin pulled the corners of his lips upward ever so slightly. He shook his head just a tiny bit. “Oh. Well, then maybe I could use a spoon! Would that be a good idea?” This time the smile was real and he shook his head vigorously from his post on the floor. I continued to suggest silly things until finally I asked him what I should use. He replied, “Maybe….a paper towel!” We continued the conversation, me asking him where I could find one and he responding and showing me step by step. After realizing they were all gone, we had to find more and then the roll wouldn’t go on so he showed me how to remove the old tube before trying to put on the new one. By the time I finally blew my nose, he was full-out laughing and had completely forgotten about whatever it was that was bothering him.
Or lastly, yesterday afternoon when the boredom bug had crept into the household. Little Bear was playing the iPod and Little Bug was loving Miss Muffin just a little too much. She was not liking it…what could I do to reach all of their hearts? I prayed again, then picked up a crinkled-up tin foil ball that was on the floor and asked Little Bug if he wanted to play catch with me. He lit up and ran to his bean bag to play. We were laughing and having a grand time playing catch, Muffin was smiling as she watched us, and soon Little Bear came running in to join the fun. We played for 20 minutes until it was time to get dinner started.
And the scripture that keeps running through my head is Matthew 25:37-40:
