With Valentine’s day right around the corner, I hope you enjoy this post I wrote almost ten years ago!

Jennifer received a bouquet of beautiful red roses and they landed on my desk. Each petal was crimson color and soft to the touch. Not that I touched every petal, but you can just tell these things. Rose petals are the type of thing you can stand in awe of as you admire them for their softness, their delicateness.

I had the privilege of delivering these roses to Teacher Jennifer. I walked in, she oohed and aahed, and I was certain she knew from whom they came. What I found most entertaining however, was the emotions caused by the arrival of these beautiful specimens within other teachers working that day.

The roses were sitting on my desk when I came walking around the corner and into my office. An indolent florist delivery person who didn’t want to find someone to receive them had left them and so there they sat – on my desk.

Imagine my elation—the feelings that came over me, only to see them succumb to deflation as I read the card attached and knew I must give them up. Therefore, because love does not envy or seek its own or act unbecomingly but rather, endures all things, I prepared to pry the vase from my grip and hand it over.

As I took them down the hallway, a few eyes caught a glimpse of the red rose bouquet and I could see the hope that appeared in their eyes. It shouted, “Could those be for me?” They soon realized, as I had to, that today wasn’t their day for red roses.

It made me think how we all long to be loved and shown love in different ways. It made me think how God longs to love us and show His love in different ways and thinking about it some more; I realized that when He does show His love in extravagant ways, our response is often to ignore Him. If His love doesn’t come wrapped in a gold-foil Godiva-type box or have a wide, velvet, red ribbon around the middle, demanding our attention (like those roses), we often neglect to notice what He’s doing around us.

For example, when was the last time you were still long enough to hear the song of the chickadee that sang while sitting outside your window? When was the last time you stopped and closed your eyes as the sun beat its warmth upon your face?

Did you notice the breeze gently move amongst the trees as seasons turned and fall came into view? Have you watched how the clouds gently move across the sky and in the soft cotton candy formations, there is often a face smiling back at you? Driving through rain-spattered streets, do you hear a song on the radio, speaking to your heart – giving you hope amidst your hurried day? Have you noticed your child sitting quietly at the kitchen table, actually doing her homework with a cheerful spirit? How about when God has gently taken your face in His hands and whispered, “I did this just for you,” as you are reminded that His Son hung upon the cross.

I noticed. Two days after the red roses left my possession, God gave me a bouquet of beautiful dahlias from a friend. I came around the corner of my office, once again, and there they sat – the biggest dahlias I have ever seen. Before I dared to get excited, I opened the card. They were from a dear friend and at that moment, I heard God whisper, “I love you.”

God will do the extravagant for us – go beyond what we can see. However, His love for us doesn’t have to come in a Godiva box or wrapped with a red bow. It’s all around us. All we have to do is just notice.