Flowers for God....

I've found myself thinking for a few days about comments made in regards to Dustin being thoughtful.  I think it struck me not because of its content as much as the way it has made me review in my mind our relationship.  It's a comment that has been made not by just one person, but a few as different things he does on occasion make older, more experienced married women kindly give that word of warning that it doesn't last so don't get too used to the thoughtfulness, flowers and gifts, it won't continue after marriage and kids come along.  I do have to say I think those that say that would be right if this were the first part of our relationship and he were overwhelming me with presents to impress, but the way our relationship has developed means that these presents and the thoughtfulness are not something that come from an attempt to impress and wow me.  It comes from someplace deeper.   They are acts intended to show me how I'm loved.  They come from a caring and love that has grown slowly and gradually like a well build fire rather than a brief flare based on surface attraction.  Do I think he will always be this paragon of virtue that continues to shower me with thoughtfulness and gifts?  No, not anymore than I will be the perfect little June Cleaver.  In other relationships I noticed it was this approach of shower me with presents to impress, but don't bother to really get to know me.  With Dustin he invested in getting to know me first.  He took time to truly understand what makes me feel loved and cared about.  Dustin has an interesting approach to nearly everything.  He studies it.  He figures out what makes it work and our relationship and myself are no different.  By truly getting to know and understand me (let's face it there's still the fact I'm a girl which makes that a subject to change at any given moment...) he knows that in the big picture I don't need flowers on a regular basis to feel loved and cared about.   What he does know is that there are times it helps.  Presents might not be how I feel loved on a regular basis, but when you combine them with other things it takes a time when I'm struggling and serves as a physical reminder when he can't be there that I'm loved.  Dustin has studied me even when I haven't fully realized it to the point that he picks up on little things that no one else would.  Again... I'm back to my theme from yesterday as the idea of how God feels at times when we do something that makes him feel loved and cared about.  When we actually get that something we do hurts him and don't just act like it doesn't matter, but do something about it.  I suppose it strikes me that in the larger war we are part of Satan can't get to God.  He's already tried to kill God's Son and we've seen how that works so what is he left with?  He's left with hurting the heart of God through us.  The things I mentioned in my post on Grace.  Those are the little things he uses to separate us which hurts God.  I truly believe that the Heart of God hurts at the things that separate us.  He doesn't go on his way unaffected by the distance.  I couldn't when there was something between Dustin and I so why would I think God is any different?  He grieves...  It's a thought that leaves me with a greater desire to make him feel the way those flowers make me feel...