A Small Act of Love

     Ron took the girls to Alvin (a huge act of love), and I got to have a day with Jake.  I was tired, and really wanted to just sleep.  But then, my next best idea was to go to the nursery to look at spring plants.  Jake is quite a gardener, and had previously picked out several things he wanted to plant from a gardening catalogue.  So we grabbed the catalogue to compare his selections against the plants in the nursery, and we were on our way.
    On the way, we bought him some soccer cleats.
    Once at the nursery, we went through the isles like bees in a clover patch.  This way, that way, grabbing up herbs, smelling the jasmine, checking out vegetables and deliberating over fruit trees.  We came home with a blueberry bush, swiss chard, strawberries, annuals and herbs.  The flats jostled as we drove down the highway.
     We stopped at Zoe's Kitchen for a delightful dinner.

  

     Then we went home, stopping to pick up snacks for tomorrow's soccer game on the way.  

     The most amazing thing happened next. 

     I had happened to do what I NEVER do: check what movies are playing.  I had seen a PG action movie for kids.  I thought I'd be bored, but I knew Jake would like it.  

     Well, when we were about done with our day, I did the totally unlikely--I offered to take him to see the movie.  I had really wanted some alone time, curled up in bed, reading.  I had already told Jake that is how I wanted to spend the evening, so perhaps he could read or something, and he was fine with that.  But against all odds, I offered to take him to this movie.  He was thrilled.  

    The moment it began, I knew I had not been in charge of that decision: it was a movie based on all Jake's favorite books: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, Gulliver's Travels.  He was immediately captivated, and I was in awe.  I felt like something far beyond me had ushered me like a dumb little lamb to that theater.  It was a perfect movie for him: fun, referring to the books constantly, positive themes, and actually enjoyable to watch.  It was like fitting a puzzle piece into a puzzle.  As we walked out of the theater he said, "As if a perfect day could get any better--and then it did!"  

     St. Therese said: "The smallest act of pure love is of more value to the church than all the other works put together."  I know that God put together our day, because it was an act of pure love for Jacob, an act far beyond what I could have designed.  I wanted him to have the best day possible, but I could never have topped it off like that on my own.  I witnessed God's love for my son.  It made me realize that Therese's quote is correct, and the reason is that God is that way.  God's signature is a simple act of pure love.  That is what He is best at.  When He does one, you know it, feel it, and nothing feels quite the same.  When we do such acts, we are participating in the divine life.  Nothing is better than that.  Nothing is worth more than that.  

    I love my son, and God loves my son.  How grateful I am to live in this life of love.