Catching Butterflies at the Grocery Store
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 — And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.
I’m standing in the grocery store at 6:42 p.m., staring at a row of rotisserie chickens slowly turning under heat lamps.
My phone buzzes. It’s my husband, Chris.
“Will you grab one on your way home?”
I laugh at how much we think alike.
We’ve been together fourteen years. Back then, we stayed up until two or three in the morning talking on the phone. We whispered so no one else in the house would wake. We talked about everything. And nothing. And everything again. There were butterflies. So many butterflies.
Now, sometimes the only thing we text each other is, “Good morning,” and, “Did you remember the chicken?”
And that may not sound romantic—but it’s something better.
Because somewhere between those late-night conversations and this grocery store aisle, our love grew up. Life filled in with jobs, kids’ schedules, responsibilities. And yet, the slow burn of love proved stronger than the sparks we once chased.
We learned to pivot. To communicate differently. To love in ways that weren’t flashy—but were faithful.
It’s tempting, when relationships shift, to assume something’s wrong. But sometimes change doesn’t mean love is fading. Sometimes it means love is maturing.
Scripture actually prays for this kind of growth:
May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow… May He make your hearts strong.
Did you catch that? Love isn’t meant to stay small. It’s meant to increase. To overflow. To strengthen hearts over time.
Some days you won’t have the energy for fireworks or grand gestures. Love isn’t always butterflies. Sometimes it’s steady. Durable. Quietly committed. Sometimes it looks like grabbing a rotisserie chicken on the way home.
And this isn’t just about marriage. It never was.
This kind of growing love spills into friendships that don’t talk every day but still show up when it matters. It spills into faith that doesn’t always feel electric but stays rooted. It spills into families learning to forgive again and again.
In whatever relationships God has placed in your life, there’s an invitation today: keep loving right where you are. Trust that God is growing something faithful, durable, and good in you.
Because when He grows the love, it doesn’t just survive—it overflows.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Where have you seen love mature in your relationships over time?
- Are you mistaking steadiness for stagnation in any area of your life?
- How might God be growing your heart stronger through everyday faithfulness?
- What is one small way you can let love “overflow” to someone this week?
