Last week my husband was out of town on business. In his absence, Em, Ella, Grandma and I were busy little elves transforming our home into a magical Christmas wonderland to surprise him upon his return. We set up a little tree in the kitchen, and Ella (my 5 year old) decided that it was our “love tree.”

Ella loves to draw. She scours my craft room for buttons and stickers, glue sticks and glitter, and she will spend hours creating pictures and cards for her school friends and us. When my husband goes out of town on business it is a guarantee that he will return to a handful of homemade delights – glittery rainbows, cute-as-a-button kitties or more abstract, Picasso inspired paintings.

I was hanging up some final decorations and Ella decided she was going to arrange her pictures and cards, hand crafted for her Daddy, beneath the love tree. After she had her gifts satisfactorily situated under the tree, she asked “Mommy, does love grow?”

Does love grow? It took me a minute to register the profundity of her question. Big brown eyes staring in my direction, Ella waited for an answer from me, and these days a simple ‘yes’ does not make the grade. Inevitably it would be followed by a ‘how’ and a ‘why’ until she was content with my answer. And so it goes that my “of course love grows” response was quickly followed by a “how?” from Ella. That kid doesn’t miss a beat!

Trying to explain relationship or romantic love was more than I was ready to tackle, so I started with a tree analogy. People, I began, plant trees because they love nature and they love the earth. God loves all living things, so he sends rain and sunshine to help the tree grow tall and sturdy with roots deep in the ground. Every year the tree grows a little bit bigger because God and the person who planted it care for and tend to it. All the love that goes into the tree makes it strong, and because the tree is so full of love, it has to give some away. The tree gives homes to birds and squirrels as a way of sharing the love it has received.

Christmas, I continued to explain, exists because of love. Many people, myself included, believe that God loved us so much that he gave us Jesus, who was born on Christmas. That is the real reason we celebrate at this time of year.

Ella appeared to be contemplating my answer and I thought this was a good sign. I went back to hanging up glittery snowmen. “Mommy,” she asks, “what about people? Does love grow in people too?”

My response went something like this --- When you and your sister were in my tummy, I was so excited that you were coming. I loved you and Em before I could even see you. On the days you were born, when I finally got to hold you and snuggle you and kiss you, my heart was so full of love that I thought it would explode (not really, Ella!). I loved you more that I thought was possible. Every day I love you and your sister more than I did the day before. The more you two grow and change, the greater my love grows.

“Even when we’re bad and we get in trouble?” she asks.

“Yes. Even when you are bad and get into trouble,” I reply. “There is nothing you or Em could ever do that would make me not love you.” With that she said, “I love you Mommy. I’m going to go play Barbie.” Up the stairs she went.

I stood in the same spot and continued to ponder Ella’s question. Love grows – of this I am certain. Love also changes shape and form. It takes on so many different forms – taking one from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Love can be given away freely, and it can also be consumed to the point of depletion. It has the power to renew and transform. Love is truly amazing, and I imagine that while everyone has a different experience with love, we are simultaneously all connected by the experience of love itself. Like “if,” L-O-V-E is a little word into which an abundance of meaning is packaged. When it grows and thrives, love is a truly awesome thing.  

Here’s to a Christmas season abundant with love that grows deeper and stronger with each passing day!