When Coffee And Waffles Mean “i Love You”

When Coffee and Waffles Mean “I Love You”

Love is patient and kind. . . . It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

As we drove the last few miles on our way home from vacation, my mind turned toward our house. Coming home from vacation is always hard for my family. We are all extra tired, grumpy, and a little out of sorts. This time I also knew that I was going to be walking into a house that was torn apart and turned inside out—with every piece of furniture shoved to the middle of every room and every item removed from the walls—in preparation for having the interior of our house painted while we were gone.

Walking inside, I noticed that the walls looked great, and I was grateful to have someone else doing the hard work. But the project wasn’t finished, as I’d expected it to be. I sighed, knowing that I’d be going back to work the next morning with the house looking and feeling like a construction zone.

We had a snack, brushed our teeth, and then clambered over dressers and around bookshelves as we sought out our beds for the night. My husband was up and out of the house extra early the next morning, giving me a quick kiss and telling me he had lots of work awaiting him at the office. As the kids and I finished dressing, my mind turned to making breakfast in a barely functional kitchen.

I was standing cluelessly in the middle of the kitchen when my husband’s smiling face appeared around the corner, his hands holding a large coffee from my favorite coffee shop and a box of frozen waffles.

His thoughtfulness cheered us all, but it especially touched my heart. My husband frequently shows his love for us by quietly meeting needs, by being slow to anger and frustration—even when it is deserved—and by not keeping score. He practices unconditional, agape love, and it makes me and our children feel absolutely cherished. Who do you know that could use an extra dose of unconditional love?

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Shower a loved one—perhaps a parent, spouse, child, or sibling—with the unconditional love described in 1 Corinthians 13.