I can remember being at my pre-marriage counseling session and the minister asking each of us to define love. He did not ask us to define it immediately but ask us to think about it and respond at the next session. I thought that this was a quite clever idea since we had to put much more thought into it than an immediate answer would take.
Many would say that love has different levels and different meanings. People use love to describe their pets, their spouses, their children, their cars, and their favorite foods. We all know (or at least hope) that the love for each is not equal.
So what does it mean to love someone? To me, love is unselfishness. Love is putting others before yourself. Love is thoughtful of the feelings of others. A mother’s love most likely fits these definitions more than any. A mother often gives-up her own dreams, wishes, and desires for her family.
However, the love for your spouse should also be giving and thoughtful. The giving should work in both directions. True love should not take advantage of one another. Small things that we do for each other add up to mean a lot.
In thinking about the little things that you can do to show selfless love for your spouse, I decided to create a list of the small things that you can do to show your love.
Let your spouse watch a television program of choice even though your favorite show is on (this is a good one for men to do!)
Save the last piece of dessert for your spouse.
Let your spouse sleep late while you get up with the children.
Cook your spouse’s favorite meal even if it is not of your liking.
Let your spouse take an extra long bath while you occupy the children.
Give your spouse a special money gift for no reason. Although your money may his/her money, tell your spouse that this money is to buy something special for him/her.