Conviction of a Hopeless Romantic

The other night, my wife and boys went out for a church function. For the first time in a long time, I found myself with a couple spare hours all by myself.  At first, I felt I should just kick back and watch some TV or maybe read a book. Instead, I jumped on my favorite social media site to check out what was happening with my friends.
  
I found the usual - a couple of interesting posts, a cat video, and commentary on the days news - everything from what people had from dinner to photos of what they were doing at the moment.  

Then I ran across a friend who it seems always is saying something about his "significant other."  He talks about making dinner, doing home repair, even waiting for his "soulmate" to come home and cuddle with him. It is such a genuine and real love.

I always think, "What a hopeless romantic." He makes me always feel a bit guilty for not doing the same for my "significant other," my "soulmate,” the one I want cuddle up with at night.

Yet this night, he convicted me. I jumped in my car, went to the local grocery store, and began to transform myself into a hopeless romantic.  

I bought the most stunning purple tulips, which I found, when they opened later that night, had radiant blue centers.

I bought a special card to simply say “I love you,” which I was pretty sure would bring tears to my lover’s eyes.

I bought a slice of special chocolate raspberry cake, which the lady behind the counter said was the best they made and must be for someone special.  

I even bought some drain cleaner for the plugged sink in our bathroom that I was reluctant to unclog for several weeks.  

As a convicted, but now hopeless romantic, I proceeded home to make my wife dinner, put the tulips on water, unclog the sink, write a special note in the card, and light some candles for ambiance.

I did it all before my family returned from church. My couple hours of down time was energized by the conviction of how one person demonstrated love for another.

It amazes me how sharing love for someone is so contagious and has such a profound impact on our lives.  If it wasn’t for my hopeless romantic friend, I may not have been convicted.  Actually, I may have sat in my chair and wasted the night away watching a couple of hours of nonsense on the television.

When we see acts of love in our neighbors, family, and friends, I believe we get a glimpse of God working in and through them. No matter who is sharing the love, when it is found tangible and a measurable expression of the person’s unconditional behavior toward another - that to me, is God’s love.

Too often our love is conditional, hoping that we will get something back in return.  That’s not God’s love.

Through a set of simple posts on a social media site, my friend convicted me to love my spouse in a tangible, measurable, and unconditional way. And the result was beautiful!       

Are you and I willing to see the love of God in anyone we meet? are we open enough to see it? or receive it?  The reason I ask, is because I left out one detail in my retelling of this story. It may make this more challenging for some, but my hopeless romantic friend is gay.