Dear Reader:

We made it through January…always a difficult month….still paying for Christmas…starting to work on taxes…usually our coldest weather in the lowcountry…simply… a  l-o-n-g month in more ways than one.

But we did it! Today is the first day of February…we usually think of Valentines first for this month but actually old “Groundhog Day” pops up tomorrow. Since the groundhog is rarely right about the rest of a long winter or early spring forecast…I don’t give it much thought… but I did like the movie.

It was while I was looking for some old valentine boxes from the grandchildren to place the little rabbit on for this month’s “Good Grace” ritual picture (“rabbit, rabbit, rabbit”) to carry us through the month that I came across a Valentine’s card I got from Eva Cate and Jake a couple of years ago (with a little help from an art teacher/mother.)

I love to  pull it out each year. * Unfortunately I put it too close to a house plant (one Valentines) that I over-watered and it got some water stains… by close proximity… Consider it just loved a lot.

All of this got me thinking, however, about the gestures we make with our children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces when they are little….spreading our hands out as far as they will go and proclaiming “I love you T H I S much!” So…What if we did the same thing for God? Don’t you think our Creator would appreciate knowing just how much we love Him?

This was a wonderful little article that popped up a couple of days ago that got me thinking about God in this direction. Let me share a short excerpt with you.

Source: “I Love You This Much: by Victoria York, from  365 Devotions to Love God and Others Well

I Love You Too

You should love Him, your True God, with all your heart and soul, with every ounce of your strength. — Deuteronomy 6:5 The Voice

Just as God expresses the extent of His love for us through the wonders of His creation, we can express our love for Him through a selfless and servant-minded life.

I love you, God says, as He splashes the night sky with a million stars.

I love you too, we say, as we forfeit an evening of relaxation to cook supper for a sick relative.

I love you, God says, as He sends a raincloud to cool a stifling August afternoon.

I love you too, we say, as we forgive our teenager for words spoken in haste.

I love you, God says, as He scatters a thousand wildflowers across an open field.

I love you too, we say, as we refuse to fret and worry over a company lay-off.

Family life, marriage, work, friendships, seasons of joy, seasons of suffering — they all offer daily opportunities to follow, to obey, to say… “I love You, God.”

For this New Year I now want to repeat Father Timothy’s daily prayer (he uttered each morning during his whole fictional life span…)

“Lord make me a blessing to someone today” …now followed by spreading my arms out as wide as I can “I love you this much God!”

Think about it…the way God shows His love for us is through His creation…through all the beauty He places in front of us each and every day…sometimes at just the right moment.

About a week ago when I went to the Charleston Cancer Center for more blood work…I stopped and took a picture of the pretty landscape leading into the entrance…it just made me happy and helped dispel any anxious thoughts I might have had concerning medical procedures. The beauty of the earth is a reminder from God that He is with us through each step of life…

So until tomorrow…Through every detail of my daily life, I want to say that I love You, too, Lord! Amen.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Don’t forget to say “Rabbit” today…the earlier the better! All of us want a great month ahead and with the “luck” of having God’s “Grace” it should be a good one! 🙂