It's Not the Ring

Gearing up for Valentine’s Day, jewelry stores spend millions of dollars convincing women that if their man really loves them, he’ll buy them a big honkin’ diamond ring. I wonder how many men watch those commercials and feel guilty if they haven’t yet come up with the giant rock.

I’ll confess, I almost fell into that trap, but only for a moment. I remember watching a commercial where a man surprised his wife with an anniversary ring and shouted to the crowd around them, “I LOVE THIS WOMAN!” And the woman rapturously replied in a breathless whisper, “I love this man. I love this man.”

I looked at my husband in his usual position—sprawled out on the couch, sound asleep by 8:00 p.m., and thought, Hey, wake up! You could learn a thing or two here!

Thankfully, the moment that thought went through my mind I looked at my wedding ring—a simple golden band with three diamond chips and no accompanying engagement ring—and recognized that after nearly 30 years, it’s holding up fine, and so is our marriage.

It’s not the ring that says I love you.

Love is going out to start the car for me before I leave on cold winter mornings. It’s saving the last cup of coffee for me. It’s hanging around the house a little while longer before he leaves for work, just to see what’s on my mind. It’s the way he makes me smile every day. Love is knowing that he prays for me and wants good things for me.

A few grand gestures could never replace the daily commitment required for love that lasts a lifetime. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus showed His love by sacrificing His life for us.

My husband regularly makes sacrifices for our family. That’s why I can say, “I love this man.”