Love In Action

Everyone thinks that young love is the sweetest kind of love.
Young love is the focus of love songs and romantic movies.
It is prized and desired; it is put on a pedestal and described as the epitome of love.
That is not the whole story.

That is not even half of the story.
That is the first chapter of a book that needs completion.
Young love is precious and beautiful.
However, young love is not seasoned.

Seasoned love is not usually the focus of Hollywood.
It may not even be the theme of most love stories or songs.
But it should be.
Seasoned love is just as tender and may honestly capture the true meaning of love.

I happened on the story by chance.
I was glad no one was in the room with me because I cried as I watched the tender story.
I watched love defined.
I watched love lived out on so many levels.

And so the story began.

There’s not a lot to do in Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. At least not in the winter. So why then, for the past couple months, have these two city workers been sneaking off on their own to shovel a walkway no one really needs to walk on?

Why indeed?

It seems that these two city workers noticed something.
For most people, it is a path to nowhere. It is a path to somewhere for one person.
Jared Ebert and Kevin Schultz put the pieces together after seeing a man in his car.
He was sitting in his car in front of a snow bank.

At the end of the walkway is a bench dedicated to a woman named Betty Caldwell.
There are flowers on the bench, even in winter.
You can tell that Betty is still loved.
Betty was deeply loved by one man, her husband, Bud.

Bud and Betty were married for 55 years before she died.
Betty loved daisies.
Betty also loved the song, Daisy a Day, which Bud would always sing to her.
So Bud decided to have a park bench placed in Betty’s honor.

He devotedly brought Betty a daisy every day he could and tenderly left it on the bench.
That is what the city workers noticed.
That is what they saw Bud do every day until the snow.
That is when they decided to do something about it.

His devotion is that strong that he still comes when he can’t make it to the bench.
We were just doing what we thought was our job.
Some intuition, be it divine or otherwise tells you, “This is why you’re here, to help one another.
We are to help one another even when no one notices.

Bud was shocked when he came to Lakeside Park and saw that someone had shoveled the snow.
One day, I  pulled up there and there’s the walk shoveled.
My knees about buckled on me, he said choking back tears, totally unexpected.
Bud is now able to bring a daisy to the bench that is there in honor of his wife.

Bud brings a daisy in the bitter cold.
Bud brings a daisy in the snow.
Bud puts the stem of the daisy in the hole on the bench seat.
Bud talks to his beloved wife before he leaves.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Bud’s love for his wife is lasting and true.
Bud continued to bring his wife a daisy a day.
It was this tender, quiet gesture that the two city workers noticed.
It was the faithfulness of one man to one woman that spoke volumes without saying a word.

It spoke loud enough that two men shoveled snow so that a man could place a daisy on a bench.
It spoke loud enough that two men went out of their way to clear the path for that devotion.
Bud never meant for anyone to see.
It was a private moment as he remembered his beloved wife.

People notice tenderness.
People notice faithfulness.
People notice devotion.
People notice love.

We think we have to do something grandiose to make an impact.
We are mistaken.
What speaks volumes is what is whispered with the heart.
What speaks volumes is love in action.

Two city workers saw love in action and were touched.
They in turn realized that we are here to help each other.
Bud put love in action.
The two city workers did the same.

They may have only shoveled a walkway.
However, that act spoke volumes.
Totally unexpected love in action is a powerful thing.
God sees even when no one else does.

God is love. (1 John 4:16)
We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
And the city workers thought they were only shoveling a walkway.
And Bud thought he was only placing a daisy on a bench.

God knows it was so much more.
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To view this delightful story, click below.