Stuffed Monkey

Emerson, my 10 year old son, had a little bit of money in his wallet.  $5 to be exact.  And he wanted to do something with it.

He asked me to take him to Food Lion one night.  While driving over there, I asked him, "Buddy, what are you planning on doing with your money?"  Now I was expecting him to say he wanted to buy some candy, like he usually does.  But he surprised me when he responded, "I just want to do something nice for Mama." 

So we got there, and he walked straight to the Valentines stuff by the door.  He took his time, looked around, and spotted what he wanted to buy.  Emerson picked up a little stuffed monkey and said, "I want to get her this."

I have to confess, my heart melted a little bit as I watched him walk up to that counter, open his Captain America velcro wallet, pull out the wrinkled up money, and buy a gift for his mom.  And I could tell he was really excited about it.  When we got home, he proudly walked into our room and gave it to Lara.  Needless to say, it made her night.  (And the monkey remains right here in our room!)

Love. 

It's more than lip service. 

Love takes action. 

These words from 1 John 3:18 explain it perfectly:  "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."  There it is.  A crystal clear description.  Love is a verb.  It is something we do.  It gets in motion and blesses others.

Emerson reminded me of something important with the stuffed monkey.  It's easy to tell someone we love them.  But it's far more meaningful to show them.  Whether it's by giving them a listening ear, a meal, or a little stuffed animal.  It doesn't have to be a big, expensive deal.  As long as it's from the heart, that's good enough.

Let's all show someone today that we love them.