First Love
By Jean Boonstra
This month we see reminders of love all around us! Jamey is at the kitchen table reading her Bible for her morning devotional time. She’s about to read a verse that reminds her of first love.
Yawn. “I’m sleeping this morning, Gadget. What am I forgetting?”
“Bark! Bark!” Gadget waged his tail happily.
Jamey laughed and scratched Gadget behind the ear. She turned the page in her Bible. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was forgetting something. Turning the page she read this verse. “We love Him because He first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19
He first loved us, she thought. Then the word “love” seemed to jump off of the page and she remembered.
“Gadget,” Jamey said, jumping out of her chair. “It’s Valentine’s Day!”
Gadget barked happily and Jamey checked the clock.
“We still have enough time! I’ll start breakfast, “ Jamey said. “You find her slippers!”
Gadget ran out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Jamey pulled out a frying pan and set it on the stove. She got the bread out of the breadbox and just as Gadget entered the kitchen she had the eggs ready.
“Good boy,” Jamey said smiling down at Gadget. He set the slippers under a chair at the table. “Go into the family room and find my colored pencils,” Jamey said to Gadget as she cracked 2 eggs into a bowl.
Gadget ran out of the room and came back with a box of colored pencils in his mouth. He set them on Jamey’s chair at the table.
“Good, boy,” Jamey said again. Working quickly, she dipped a piece of bread in the egg mixture and set it in the frying pan. As it sizzled, she poured a glass of orange juice and set the table with the prettiest plate she could find.
“Bark! Bark!” Gadget ran towards the front door.
“Oh,” Jamey called out. “Stall her! I have to write the card!”
Jamey pulled out the colored pencils and a sheet of paper. She turned back to the verse she read earlier in her Bible and wrote it as neatly and quickly as her fingers would let her.
“Gadget, let me inside,” a voice said.
Jamey flipped the bread in the frying pan, put the card on the table, and then called out “Gadget, I’m ready.”
Gadget scampered back into the kitchen, the special guest behind him.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom!” Jamey said with a big grin.
“Oh, did you make breakfast for me?” Dr. Simon asked, admiring the kitchen.
“We did,” Jamey said. “Now sit at the table. Your slippers are waiting for you.”
“Thank you Gadget,” Dr. Simon said sitting down.
“One serving of French Toast for you mom,” Jamey said setting the delicious smelling food in front of her.
“Oh Jamey,” Dr. Simon said. “This is a wonderful surprise to come home to after the night shift at the hospital! What made you think of doing this?”
Jamey sat down at the table and handed her mom the card. “I was planning this for a while,” she explained. “But, I almost forgot!”
“Oh?” Dr. Simon asked.
“Open the card,” Jamey said. “This verse reminded me. It reminded me of you, mom. You first loved me when I was too little to love you back.”
Dr. Simon smiled and opened the card. “We love Him because He first loved us. That’s ” 1 John 4:19. Jamey, I love this verse, it tells us that we love God because He first loved us. It’s not about me.”
Jamey grabbed her mom’s hand. “I know. Thanks for teaching me about God, mom, and for loving me. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Don’t forget to tell your parents and grandparents that you love them this Valentine’s Day.
