Tomorrow Louisa plans to wash my windows, and for some of them she’ll need a grease solvent and a scraper. After 9 pairs of pudgy hands were here looking out of them for a couple of weeks (and we know children look with their hands), the windows are needy indeed.

My house wears other evidences of recent youthful visitors, too: Crayons under the table, artwork covering the fridge, toddler toys in the kitchen cabinets, and Cheerios on the children’s bookshelf.

Over the weekend I found another clue, this one a treasure. One of the children had drawn a beautiful rainbow heart and taped it to a wall in the basement. Whoever it was had had the foresight to hang it high enough to be out of range of destructive small fry.

After a few text inquiries, I learned the artist was Skylar, age 6, who left behind a little love for her Grandma Midgee. And just in case anyone wondered, she gave her work a title: “LOVE.”

Actually, she titled it “LOVE-period” as if to say, “LOVE is all there is; LOVE is where it’s at; LOVE is it.”

Skylar’s gift was truly thoughtful, because it’s something everybody wants: LOVE-period. I thought about that for a long time, trying to assess if I do as well as Skylar. When I depart, whether I drive to another state, fly to another country, or travel to heaven, have I left enough LOVE-period behind?

Easier than leaving LOVE-period is to leave tangibles that can be appreciated by the five senses, gifts that can be seen, sniffed, tasted, handled, or heard. Giving LOVE-period takes more effort, but then again it’s more meaningful and lasts longer.

Psychologists tell us every human being is born with a need to be loved. God created us that way and didn’t just plant that desire and leave us without a way to meet it. He satisfied it in a unique way.

God himself is love (1 John 4:8) and because this is true, he’s qualified to say, “I offer myself to you as your loving Father, someone who can and does love you more than any other. My love isn’t related to your behavior, doesn’t diminish over time, and knows no limits. Love is the definition of who I am. Everything I do comes out of the fact that I am Love. I am LOVE-period. And I can fully satisfy your need to be loved.”

This good news is for all of us.

As for Skylar’s rainbow heart, I’m planning to leave it on my basement wall as long as the tape sticks. And when it falls, I’ll frame it and hang it in the living room, because really, love is all that matters. LOVE-period.

Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:39

Praising and Praying with Mary

1. Praise the Lord they found a good vein today. The infusion went fine, though I’m extra tired and have mild nausea.
2. Please pray that my declining vision will improve after chemo ends, as they say it will.