Love in a Nutshell: February – The Gloved Heart
This setup is perfect for February’s Love in a Nutshell mystery. It’s soft, nuanced, and beautifully layered: not just romantic love, but friendship, uncertainty, and the way affection can stir us to grow. Let’s take a quiet stroll into February’s story, full of hidden hearts, subtle sparks, and a nudge from a loving God.
Love in a Nutshell: February – The Gloved Heart
Aimee Little was a walking contradiction in winter—always bundled in layered scarves and fingerless gloves, but with her heart wide open to possibility. She was a romantic, the kind who doodled hearts in the margins of meeting notes and secretly hoped for a handwritten card in her mailbox.
But Ben Carter? He was a bit of an enigma.
Tall, thoughtful, and often lost in the details of whatever wooden project he was building, Ben had become something of a puzzle to Aimee. Since working together on the community prayer bench last fall, she had felt the quiet pull of wanting to know him better. But lately, Ben had been distracted—withdrawn even.
She’d tried casual coffee invites. Game night hints. Even a soft confession—“I like spending time with you”—after church one Sunday. But all she’d received in return was a polite smile and a vague “Yeah, me too.”
Disheartened, Aimee took solace in her work at the paper and in her unlikely friendship with Owen Bakewell, who had been stopping by the office more lately, always offering to bring her a soda or lend an ear when the design software froze again.
“Maybe he’s just not ready,” Owen said gently one afternoon as they watched the Valentine’s decorations go up on Maple Lane.
“Or maybe he’s just not into me,” Aimee sighed. “And I’m reading tea leaves where there’s only dust.”
That week, Owen invited her to the Hearts and Hymns Potluck at the church. He made no pretenses—just an offer of good food, company, and music.
Aimee went.
She laughed. She sang. She wore her thrifted red jumper with a little velvet heart brooch. She didn’t think about Ben—until she stepped outside to find him leaning against the church’s back porch, fidgeting with something small in his hands.
A tiny heart carved from wood.
“I was gonna give this to you,” he said without looking up. “But then I saw you and Owen. You looked happy. And I—I don’t know what I’m doing half the time when it comes to... feelings.”
Aimee smiled gently. “Ben... it’s not a competition. It’s not even about who gets to give the Valentine.”
He looked up then, eyes vulnerable. “Then what is it about?”
“Time,” she said, stepping closer. “Attention. Noticing each other.”
Ben looked down at the heart, then at her. “I notice you, Aimee. I just... didn’t think I was allowed to need someone.”
She reached for the little wooden gift. “We all are. And you’re not late. You’re just... still whittling.”
They laughed—soft and honest—and walked back inside where hymns and hearts waited.
Scripture Reflection:
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV)
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud... It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
Journal Prompt:
Have you ever tried to express affection or friendship and felt uncertain about how it was received? What does it mean to "notice" someone in the way God notices us—with patience and kindness?
Think of someone you’ve been drawn to connect with—what’s one small, thoughtful way you can show them they matter?
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