“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” I John 4:7 (NIV)
Every year when the kids go back to school the house gets too quiet and I get a little lonely. Two things that help to lift my spirits are a good cup of coffee (or two or three or…) and a beautiful smelling candle. There is something about smell that brings me comfort.
I was talking to my husband about buying a candle, but that’s as far as it went. I have a hard time splurging on myself when it’s not a necessity, so I thought about going to the store and seeing if there were any I would want and then saving up to buy one in a few weeks. But the first week of school is always so busy and this year we were having car issues too so I hadn’t even made it that far.
However, my husband is someone who listens with his heart. Three days later, he surprised me with this beautiful candle. I didn’t have to wait until I could go to the store and pick one out myself, I didn’t have to save up for it and the weather this year for the first week of school was more fall-like than “end of summer hot” so it was a perfect surprise!
Today as I’m working, I’m smelling my husband’s love burning on the counter, waiting for my family to come home so we can all be together and create some more fun memories together this weekend.
But that’s not the only way love smells in my house. It’s also in the coffee my husband (or my children) surprise me with or let me pick out “just because.” It’s in the coffee my prayer partner sends so that we can “drink coffee together and pray” daily for our family, friends and all the needs that cross our paths. It’s in the beautiful flowers that my husband buys and plants in the planters outside our living room windows and then faithfully waters them when I forget so I can see and smell them all summer. It’s in the baths my husband encourages me to take to relax and de-stress after long weeks. It’s the cologne I smell as I kiss him goodbye which reminds me of when we were dating or a different cologne that takes me back to our wedding and subsequent honeymoon. It’s the campfires that my husband surprises me with in our backyard because we have a long weekend and there’s nothing quite as relaxing as watching a fire while spending time with those you love.
It’s the big and little smells throughout the year – the scent of fresh rain which reminds me of lazy Sunday afternoons cuddled up with my family watching movies or reading quietly. It’s the smell of peppermint coffee that forever takes me back to a blizzard when we all shoveled and then headed over to his parents’ house for breakfast and a fun day of playing games on our unexpected snow day off together.
I could keep going… but I’m sure you have your own list of what love smells like at your house. Whatever the favorite scent, love is what makes it so unforgettable.
© Cheri Swalwell 2017