Unconventional Ways To Show Love

When you think of typical ways of showing love to your significant other, you probably think about flowers, gifts, physical affection, regular communication, date nights, and experiences. Those are good and necessary, but after being married for twenty years, I’ve discovered some unconventional ways to love my wife. Here are a few examples.

I put down the toilet seat. When I first got married, I did not realize the dangers involved with not doing this. If you’re looking to give your wife a good scare and destroy trust, leaving up the toilet seat is a great idea. If you want to love her well, put it down.

I pick up my clothes off the floor (sometimes). Okay, I’ll admit, I need work in this area. Sometimes I’m just so tired that I don’t feel like it… but that’s a terrible excuse that a child would make. I’m almost a full-grown man at this point. Let’s soften it a bit: I make sure my clothes don’t get too out of hand on the floor next to my bed.

I put away my dishes after meals and put my lunch box containers away immediately. Again, I know Allie is reading this. I’m not perfect in this area, but I try. When I do my part around the house, it helps lighten the load on Allie.

I know what you’re thinking: “Ivey, you pig, this isn’t love. This is just how one maintains a functional home. Do your part. And don’t pat yourself on the back about it.”

Fair enough.

But here’s the deal: I would do all these things if I lived alone, but not at the speed my wife does. For instance, I would let dishes sit in the sink until evening. But not my wife. She never wants a dish in the sink.

So, my real unconventional way of loving her is the speed and frequency at which I do mundane things around the house.

Love often looks different from what’s typical. This Sunday, we’re continuing our exploration of 1 Thessalonians by looking at three unconventional ways we love our neighbors. We’re going to see that loving our neighbors isn’t only about charity and kindness. It goes even deeper than that.

I’d love for you to join us tomorrow for worship as we learn how deep neighbor love truly goes.

P.S. This is a special and sad week as we say goodbye to Matt and Nicole. They have been an integral and important part of Arborway for years. We will be praying for them and sending them out as they head down to the Sunshine State to continue the Lord’s work.