A few years ago my husband and I decided that we would not exchange valentine’s gifts or cards. We had lots of reasons. Instead, we would take the evening to go out to eat a delicious meal in a favorite local restaurant.
We would save our money and use it somewhere else. Most of the nicer valentine’s cards were pretty expensive and we did not have to spend anything on cards that year.
We were aggressively trying to get rid of all the nick-knacks we had gathered over the years. For sure we did not need any more dust collectors.
Flowers die after a few days and balloons loose air quickly.
Our feelings were mutual. We agreed wholeheartedly on our plan.
After work, on February 14, I came through my front door, only to find a huge bouquet of 12 eighteen inch red balloons consuming the small foyer. Had the ceiling been lower, I would not be able to walk through that hallway. They were gorgeous. I was overwhelmed. He never showered me with a gift like this. No, never!
Whoa! What did he do? He did not follow through on our mutual agreement.
His car was gone. I quickly ran out the door, back into my car and drove off to the closest pharmacy where I quickly looked for an instant gift.
It was almost dinnertime and they didn’t have much left. My mind was racing, trying to figure out why he changed his mind about gifts. I picked out a mug decorated with hearts and raced for a card. Not much was left there either. A few cards with mismatched envelopes were thrown in the card rack. Well, I found one. I paid for the card and mug and quickly drove home.
I entered my house and there he was smiling. He said, “Do you like them?”
I loved them. They were beautiful and magnificent!
I finally said, “But what about our agreement?”
Our conversation traveled like a yo-yo, back and forth.
“They were free!” “Free?” “Yes. Absolutely free!” “What do you mean free?”
I could not figure this out at all.
The story unfolded. As he drove down the street, he saw the huge bouquet of balloons in a tree. He drove around for a while and kept returning to that tree. No one came back for them. He drove underneath the tree, climbed on top of the van and carefully extracted them from the branches.
It was a free gift. It didn’t cost a cent. It was there for someone to take. It was ready for ownership.
My husband loves me. He loves me a lot. Probably friends could say, “That’s true love.”
Two thousand years ago, God sent His Son Jesus into this sinful world to die for me and my sins. I don’t deserve it. That’s true love!
God’s gift to me is Jesus. I needed to accept that free gift of Jesus into my life so that I could have eternal life and become His child. He saved me from my sinfulness. I asked Him to be my best friend. He came into my life. That’s true love!
I am thankful for God’s free gift, much more than I appreciated those wonderful balloons.
Promises: “For the wages (price) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Partnering with God: My prayer: (It can be yours, too!) Dear God. Thanks for sending Jesus, Your only Son, into the world to die for my sins. I accept the free gift of Jesus into my life. I invite Jesus to be my best friend. That’s true love. I need your forgiveness and love to take over in my heart. Thanks for giving me eternal life. That’s true love!
Let me know your thoughts!
Partnering with God,
Elaine
I loved it so much and I thought it was wonderful that he did that for you.
From, Jordan
P.S He should do that all the time.
Thanks Jordan. Your words are so sweet. Happy Valentine’s Day and remember we have ‘True Love’ in Jesus. Trust Him with everything.
Is this story of the balloons in a tree the most precious, awesomeness of GOD’s TRUE LOVE?
Not only did JESUS die for us but HIS love for us is represented as a tree that branches out.
The LORD BLESSED you with the most precious husband to risk himself standing on top of
the van to reach out and grasp GOD’s LOVE for you.
GOD BLESS and Thank You for sharing a beautiful part of your lives.
Diane, Thanks for your positive comments. The free gift of beautiful heart shaped balloons provided a great example of God’s great love for us. I really appreciate your kind words. Have a blessed 2014.
Love this story, Elaine! Especially when you panicked and went out a scrambled for a mug:). I also like the general format of your posts, how you share your story, then fix it in His Promises and challenge us to Partner with God. Stories are the best. I always want to hear how other saints experienced God, esp. thru the hard times, and how God was faithful. Sweet blessings to you!
Thank you for your kind comments. I want God to be glorified in each post. Sharing the story of the Valentine’s balloons brought opportunity to plant seeds about salvation. It is wonderful how God allows certain life experiences so that we can share them with others. Thanks for your encouragement in following my Passion, Promise and Partnering with God format. May God bless you and your family.
Neat story! Yes……..God’s love is free……………….freely you have received………….freely give!
Judy, I love your comment and hope simply you encouraged me with one verse. May the Lord bless you as you seek to serve and obey Him.
Elaine, there was no coincidence in what occurred . I believe God wanted you to share His message of
salvation to people through this story.
Celeste. I agree that God used this valentine event so that I could share God’s free gift of eternal life. May we look for daily happenings to let God’s light shine in this word of darkness.
Wonderful story about the balloons. God provides good gifts for His children and this time it was with double-love…the deliverer of His Love was your loving husband. Awesome!
Thanks Maude for your encouraging words. It was a humorous story with deep spiritual principles for me to apply. May God bless you this year as you serve Him.
I love this! How God provided,and how you tried to match His matchless gift – as we humans so often do!
Beautiful story Elaine. It also reminds us that God’s gift of salvation is free. We try to repay Him by doing things for him but we don’t need to. We love him, but he first loved us and gave us a precious gift. Reminds me of this devotional I just read this morning:
“For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.””
Genesis 18:19 NIV
http://bible.com/111/gen.18.19.niv