Our oldest son, Logan, will be home soon. He’s on fall break from school. It’s been quite a few weeks since he’s been here. We’ve missed him.
We love homecoming day.
As I sit at my desk for my morning quiet time, I notice the rose, handmade, twisted from autumn leaves of red and gold, that permanently sits on a stack of books. I’m taken back suddenly to a day a few years ago when our son was new to college. When it was his first time coming home.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I wondered if things had changed.
I remember working with Samuel to put clean sheets on Logan’s bed. Opening the window of his room to receive fresh fall air. We were getting ready to welcome our brother and son.
He’d surely grown. And growth was good.
But would he be as tender? As thoughtful? As others-focused as he’d always been?
I wasn’t sure.
I was somewhere in the process of letting go, and I didn’t know what to expect.
Logan came home, that first time, on a bright fall day. We waited under the golden maple for him to arrive. And when he did, he met the family with affection and love. He lifted the smaller brothers to his arms. We all chatted and caught up and gathered around the table to share soup that I’d left simmering on the stove.
And later in the evening, as Logan was heading out to meet with some of his friends, he stopped by my room. I’d been sitting at my desk.
“Mom,” he said. “This is for you.”
I turned my chair and looked into the thoughtful eyes of my son.
“There’s a great old bookstore in Chicago. There are vintage books and tall shelves and ladders and often you can hear the clack of the train. You’d love it. Maybe sometime we can go.”
He handed me a copy of a worn book that he knew I’d enjoy. And on top of the book was the rose.
“Thank you, Logan,” I said. I stood from my chair to hold my son.
“You’re welcome.”
In a short moment he was gone again. Out the door.
But his gift, the thoughtfulness, had meant a great deal to me. It was a time of change. Uncertainty. And my son had shown me that while circumstances never hold still, love holds fast.
He’d reached into my life with kindness and love.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (I John 4:7, NIV)
So today, as we prepare for another homecoming, my heart is filled with joy.
But I’m challenged, too. Is there someone, in my life, whom I can reach with kindness and love? Someone in my neighborhood? A friend?
Love doesn’t have to be expressed with a tangible gift. It could be the gift of a listening ear. The sharing of affection. The gifts of conversation and attention and time.
Sometimes the smallest things bring the most bountiful blessing.
I know firsthand.
I’ve received.
And I want to give.
Lord, show me where to bless someone with the gift of love. Amen.
