The Changing Understanding of Value

I have always loved spring: It meant the end of the school year. It was the beginning of warmer weather. But as I’ve gotten older, I have thought of other things: weddings, children being born, family vacations. It has changed how I see value in the world around me.

LOVE = Living Out Value Everyday

Spring makes me think about love—how it starts, how it deepens, how it changes us.

The older I get, the more I understand love not as a feeling, but as a choice we make. I think of the words in 1 John 3:18: “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” Love doesn’t just talk. Love shows up. And over time, we begin to see how costly—and how beautiful—that really is.

Becoming a parent teaches you that.

Likewise, becoming a parent of grown children? That opens a whole new window into God’s heart.

You raise them, protect them, pray for them. And then, slowly, you release them. You watch them stumble, make choices you wouldn’t have made, fall down, and try again. Yet, even when they push you away, even when they don’t listen—you don’t stop loving them. You can’t. Because love doesn’t control; it lets go, and keeps waiting. Keeps hoping. Keeps showing up.

The L.O.V.E. from God

It’s in those moments I understand something deeper about the love of God. That He lets us choose. That He doesn’t force us, but instead values us enough to give us freedom. Love isn’t about control.

Every time we fall and come back, He meets us with open arms. It is about forgiving.

That kind of love is patient. It’s kind. It endures.

That’s what I see in Living Out Value Everyday. It’s not about grand gestures or perfect words. Instead, it’s about quietly choosing to love, to forgive, to wait, to walk beside—even when it hurts. It’s believing that every act of grace plants something eternal.

Living Out Value Everyday Through the Seasons

It’s like when Jesus shared the parable of the 4 soils. Only one of them accepted the seed and let it grow into something mature. It was the soil that stayed churned up and fresh.

In our own heart, it is letting the Holy Spirit show us where we are hard, so we can break up the hard pieces, pull out the stones. The soil softens, seeds land and sprout, and eventually, buds open. There’s a quiet invitation in it all: to live, to grow, to begin again.

Love grows when we let God tend the soil of our hearts. Prayer, scripture, worship—these are not chores; they are the water and light love needs to grow in us. And the more time we spend with Him, the more our lives begin to bloom with His love.

God is LOVE, Living Out Value Everyday in You

If you’ve walked through the seasons of parenting—or grandparenting—you know the ache and the joy of loving deeply. You also know the strength it takes to keep showing up in love when it costs you something. That’s the kind of love God has for us. A love that lets us choose, but never leaves us alone.

To the mothers who live this out so faithfully—thank you. Your quiet, daily choices to love, to serve, to endure: they matter. You are living out God’s heart in a thousand unseen ways.

For those who have felt the sting of rejection or who may be estranged from their child, God knows that hurt, and He is there for you. You have value still. Your time was not wasted. Your love is not for nothing.

God has experienced that too, and He has comfort for you.

For those of you who have been blessed to have a wonderful mom–or to be a wonderful mom–whether biological or born from the heart, I hope you realize that love you have for your child is only a fraction of the love God has for you.

We are valuable and bought with a price, but it is a debt we could never repay. Realize the value of who you are and the value of what has made you a child of God.

May we all be people who Live Out Value Everyday—in our families, in our friendships, and in our faith.

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About Tiffany Colter
Tiffany Colter is a Christian writer, business coach, and mentor who has spent more than two decades guiding others through life’s transitions with faith and purpose. Whether through homeschooling her children, coaching writers and entrepreneurs, or writing words that point people back to hope, she believes deeply in the power of everyday obedience to transform lives. Her heart beats for helping others live boldly in their calling—rooted in truth, anchored in grace.

If you’re looking for encouragement in your business, your parenting journey, or your writing life, Tiffany offers practical support and biblical perspective through her Substacks:
Learning Resources Online – for entrepreneurs and freelancers (https://learningresourcesonline.substack.com)
Writing Career Coach – for writers and authors (https://writingcareercoach.substack.com)
Building the Balanced Life – for those juggling business, caregiving, and their calling (http://buildingthebalancedlife.substack.com/)
Decision Tree Learning – For homeschoolers as well as teachers and parents (decisiontreelearning.substack.com)

Let’s grow something lasting—together.