He Loves Me

Some husbands show love for their wives by giving them expensive jewelry.  Some women receive love that way.

Some husbands express love by taking their wives out dancing.  Some women are into that kind of thing.

Some husbands demonstrate love by giving their wives foot massages.  Some women like having their feet rubbed.

I am not that woman.

However, let me record, for memory's sake, a few of the ways I have seen Jeff's love for me in the past several days.

The Gift of Time

On Sunday evening, Jeff took all three boys to a game night that our church's junior high youth group was hosting, giving me time to clean and organize our bedroom, which had been in chaos for a little over two weeks, due to the painting project.  That was long enough to make me a teensy bit antsy, and I reveled in the time Sunday night--the uninterrupted time--that I could use to restore order and beauty to our bedroom.  It was a gift, and I knew I was loved.

The Gift of Solitude

This is closely related to the above gift, but here is another example of Jeff showing love to me in this way.  Today he took all three boys to a trout pond in West Virginia (and they caught 11 fish!), giving me the opportunity to run errands in town alone--oh, joy!  :)  I had an appointment with the midwife; but before that, I was able to go by a friend's house and have a cup of tea with her while I looked through a box of hand-me-downs from her three boys to mine.  After the appointment, I went by a few fabric/decorating stores to get some ideas for the fabric I want to use for window treatments for our bedroom, as well as a slipcover for an old chair (from my maternal grandparents) that I have in the bedroom as a cozy reading spot.  Then I was off to Gift & Thrift, to drop off a bunch of stuff I've collected to donate...and to leisurely look through almost all the sections of the store to see what "needed" to come home with me.  :)  To be able to do all of these things by myself was a joyful break for me, and I appreciate so much Jeff's willingness to give me that time.  It wasn't so long ago that it was tough to take all three boys, because of their varying needs; but now that Tobin is getting a little older, Jeff has begun to include him with the others, and it provides such a time of refreshment for me when he does.

The Gift of Service

I've been eager to get my birthday magnolia in the ground; but for one reason or another, its planting kept getting delayed.  Until this afternoon, that is, when Jeff donned a coat against the chilly wind (although the sky was beautiful, the breeze had a bite to it) and dug the hole for my tree.  It turned into a community effort, with my mother joining us to give advice and provide the right mixture of fertilizer, Josiah and David using a small shovel to "help Daddy," the neighbor girls gathering around to watch and help as needed with putting fertilizer in the hole or bracing the tree trunk against the wind or holding earthworms that they had picked out of the dirt, and even the painter Kevin joining the crew to...well...offer encouragement and support, I suppose.  :)  I know digging a hole isn't much fun, but I'm so grateful to Jeff for loving me and showing it by serving me in a way that really meant a lot to me.

With all this love being lavished on me, I wonder how I can express my love more effectively to him?