Love. In Secret.

Have you ever been loved in secret? I don't mean having a crush on some bad boy that your parents hate and hiding it, I mean have you ever just been you, doing what you do, and find out later the extent someone or people have gone to, to show they care? Well, I have- let me explain. My mom and dad are pretty much the best parents on the planet (don't argue either- it's true) and I recently went home to visit and like always was supper excited to see my family again. The whole time was a blast and they paid for everything (as always- I don't even try to resist anymore ) ;-) They took me out for supper and to see a movie and we went camping and had BBQ's and bon fires and smores, etc, etc. And then the day came that I was to leave, and my dad asks where my car keys are, just to look over my car and top up fluids for the long drive home. Fine, cool. I gave him my keys and he did what he needed to and I was on my way. I get out of the driveway and notice my fuel is right full. "Hum, Drake must have filled it when we got here" (since we didn't use our car at all while we were there), I thought to myself (nope, I was wrong- guess who it was...). Then, I get just out of town and notice there's a tube of Lay's Stacks chips in my passenger seat. Now, I had bought this same kind earlier in the week, so I thought it was the empty one- until I picked it up and low and behold it is a brand new one full and unopened just for me! My dad had helped me to eat the other ones and felt bad and replaced the whole thing.
To me, it doesn't matter that it was $2, it was very thoughtful, and I smiled to myself knowing this was a thoughtful gift. Then, I got curious and opened my purse and pulled out my wallet. Something in the back of my mind made me wonder about my mother. She has become famous for sending us off with a wad of cash to pay for traveling expenses, or whatever we need or just a bonus no-reason-at-all-for-it gift of money! I remember the night before she said she needed to stop at the bank (even though there was nothing open to buy anything) and I got the idea then and told her I wasn't taking the money so don't think about sending it home with me. She acted all innocent like "what are you talking about" but I told her that money's not going back with me. Yeah, well, it may have worked out that way if I hadn't left my purse just sitting around right in the open for her to have full access. At that moment in the car, I found the wad of cash she stashed in my wallet and I shook my head in admiration. Oh mom.
The extent some people go to love you makes you feel even more loved than Christmas!!!! At least on Christmas day, you are expecting all these great new things, but when there's no reason at all for a gift and you get one anyways, it blows me away! Love in secret. That's what God does too. Why do you ever wonder why you can't tell someone how God has loved you? Because often have no evidence of proof to show for it, He just loves you. He cares for you and shows it. He speaks loving words into you and you cherish them forever. He changes you and your life in such small, but significant ways, you can't help but know that He really deeply cares, just like my parents do. They want the best for me. So does God. They want to bless me. So does God. They have loved me from the moment I was born- God loved me before even then! The Bible says that when you do something special for someone, when you give," do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret." That way, you're not elevating yourself to get recognition for it, you're giving just to give from your heart. And the very next verse says "Then your Father, who sees what is done is secret, will reward you." (Matt 6:3, 4) Love in secret. If you let the secret out, you ruin such an important element. Keep it a secret.
I encourage you to actually try this. Find someone you know who you could do a secret act of love for, and don't tell anyone. Then wait and see how they tell everyone for you and you can smile to yourself knowing it was a success and they will beam with gratefulness or excitement because of what was done for them and they have no idea why or who or how, they just know they are loved! It's as simple as that!
Thanks mom and dad for scheming to show me how much you love me. I couldn't feel more loved! (and that's the truth)