In our home, love doesn’t look like you might expect. There aren’t fireworks or grand displays, there aren’t brightly wrapped gifts or decorations hanging from the walls. None of the signs of love that the movies, commercials, or greeting card aisles show me exist in our home - not on Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year. The fancy showcase of love I thought I needed and deserved, the fuzzy feelings and happy sighs? They’ve been replaced by real life.

In our home love isn’t a feeling. It’s in the “doing.”

It’s reading the same book 50 times because it means extra cuddles with a wiggly toddler.

It’s being ok with the crumbs and dust bunnies because it means more time playing made up games.

It’s letting go of control and allowing our girl to help crack eggs to make breakfast. Or feed the cats. Or help vacuum.

Love in our home looks a lot like a mess. But I’ve come to love that the piles of stickers, markers, books, toys, games, and stuffed animals are signs that we are an active, involved family. The snow boots, pants, gloves, arm warmers, hats, mittens, and jackets left in front of the garage door are reminders of the giggles from our daughter as her daddy built her a snow slide. The bathtub full of toys - some that probably don’t belong in the water - bring moments of beautiful (and soggy) creativity from the mind of a two year old. The sticky spots on the table are reminders that we are blessed to have enough food to eat and the ability to sit at the table together and say grace. To thank God for His love and provision as a family, and listen to our girl’s little voice sing “God our Father.”

It’s in the messy moments of our every day that I‘m so grateful to be loved by a God who doesn’t expect me to be perfectly organized and beautiful on the inside before He works on my heart. It’s in the acts of transformation and refinement, forgiveness and grace that I experience God’s love in my life - more “doing.” He gives, provides, heals, comforts, corrects, saves - and never runs out of love to do it again the next morning. And the next.

Love no longer comes packaged in diamonds and fancy dinners in our home. But it’s so much more valuable.