One Rose is Better Than a Dozen

As we are all searching for just the right gift for our loved ones, I thought this story would be a good gift-giving guide for husbands and wives. It happened several years ago.
Charissa was explaining it all to her brother. "If you want to get in good with your girlfriend, don't give her a dozen roses. One rose is just as good." She continued: "It's all about a system of brownie points. A single rose or a dozen roses equals one brownie point." She added, "The same holds true with chocolates. A box of chocolates equals one brownie point. Instead, take the chocolates out and feed them to her one at a time. That's worth one brownie point apiece. Use your head. Little things count as much as big things."
Women must be born with this kind of wisdom. It amazed me that my daughter knew all this stuff because I never taught her. Her mother may have schooled her; I've always suspected there was a conspiracy among women. We men are clueless when it comes to romance.
Romance dates back to the garden of Eden. It starts with commitment: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.--Genesis 2:24.
It’s like roses; they don't grow well where there are weeds or rocks. My friend Wallace Morris had beautiful roses, for which he prepared a flower bed of good soil. He nurtured these roses on this bed. I don’t know what he fed them, he died several years ago. The results of his nurturing were enormous, fragrant, yellow rose blossoms. He gave one to my daughter that year. Not a dozen, just one. He was smart. He treated his wife the same way; and she enjoyed it and smiled sweetly at him, the way she had for fifty-plus years. Romance grows well on a flower bed of commitment love. The resulting romance blossoms for a lifetime. The “advice to the love-lorn” columnist ought to have sought Wallace out and asked him.
I've read many articles on romance. They all say the same thing: it's the little things that count. A card, a note hidden in her purse, a note stuck to her rearview mirror will please her more than a large gift. Tell each other what kinds of little things you both like. They don’t need to cost much, or require much effort. One year for me it was lemons. Two or three of these in a grocery sack did wonders for Saphronia when money was tight, we were in graduate school and she was expecting our first child. Tenderness gets you more brownie points than large grandiose gifts. The apostle reminded the men of this fact in I Peter 3:7:
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Give her a basket of fine fruit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.—Galatians 5:22-23.
Whatever you give her, just make sure she doesn’t have to plug it in or work with it! (By the way, Michael heeded his sister’s advice and is now happily married to his girlfriend.)