Live a Life of Love

Before I fell into bed last night, I read from a little devotional book for mothers; and the theme verse for the one I read was Ephesians 5:2: Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. I was so moved by these words because I had just seen a visible demonstration of them.

Jeff got home from work late last evening, and I'm sure he was tired and ready for a break himself. However when he saw me dragging myself around the kitchen, getting supper ready while being on the verge of collapse, and when he asked me how I was and I said, "This is one of those days when I can hardly wait to crawl into bed," he said, "Why don't you go to bed now?" My first instinct was, "I can't go to bed now! Supper has just begun, the boys need to finish eating, then play for a while, then get into their pajamas and do the whole getting-ready-for-bed thing. Plus, it's only about 7:00. That's too early to go to bed!" However, my second (and wiser) instinct was simply to say, "Really? Are you sure I can go to bed now? OK! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Good night!" :)

A few minutes later, when I read the words from Ephesians, I felt so incredibly blessed by how Jeff gave himself up for me and sacrificed his own desires, showing me in such a concrete way how much he loves me. His example inspires me to try to do the same for him--and for our boys--and for others with whom I come into contact.