This morning I was throwing away some balloon creations that our friend had made for Jud on his birthday.  They adorned our home for over a week, and as I placed their deflated forms in the trash, I thought about how much Jud would have enjoyed them.

I imagined my little man declaring, “That’s so coooooooooool!” as he often did when he experienced something neat and out of the ordinary.

And then I thought about our friend making them-taking the time to craft 7 different and amazing balloon shapes that he suspected Jud would appreciate if he were alive: Elmo, a shark, a monkey, a go-kart racer, and more.

It dawned on me…this is a symbol of true love-selfless expression of care with absolutely no expectation of anything in return.  Our friend was very much aware, as he lovingly inflated each balloon, twisted them together, and crafted them into creative shapes for Jud, that there would be absolutely no personal satisfaction from seeing Jud’s enthusiastic face upon receipt, or hearing his words of gratitude, or watching him be entertained by his novel, new toy.   His love, without any expectation for something in return, was pure.

So often my expressions of love toward others, though rarely consciously, are tied up in some ultimately selfish expectations.  Oh, that I might learn to love more purely!