I have no idea when it started. Or how. Or why.
I just know that somewhere along the way, Valentine’s Day became my nemesis.
At some point and time, it became characteristic of a bully – relentlessly pursuing me with its cheesy hallmark cards, rows of teddy bears, dark red roses, balloons and chocolate.
And my response has been to label this day as my sworn enemy. My response has been to shout from the rooftops that this day does NOT belong to Eros! It is named after a saint, for goodness sake, and therefore should rightfully be celebrated as a day devoted to Philos. And Agape.
In the name of JUSTICE!
And, to a certain extent, it worked.
And let’s be honest – we need a lot more Philos and Agape the world over.
The amount of money spent on candy on Valentine’s Day alone is around $1.6 BILLION DOLLARS. If that is not a reflection of misdirected priorities, I do not know what is.
And so,
somewhere along the way,
Valentine’s Day became my adversary.
A big, badass
bully.
BUT…
…here’s the thing…
I. am. loved.
I am loved by the Creator of the UNIVERSE!
And not only that – I am loved UNCONDITIONALLY!
And so are you.
Don’t believe me?
Go read Psalm 139 (like, right now) and then I triple dog dare you to tell me that you do not feel some warm fuzzies as to how your Creator views YOU.
And here’s the thing.
I am loved by my husband.
Almost as unconditionally (and yet no where close) as my Creator.
And I love him.
Almost as unconditionally (and yet no where close) as he is loved by his Creator.
And as I wrote that, I cracked one of those sideways smiles. I know that to some the above statements will either sound like I am gloating, or they will sound like I am fooling myself.
You know why that is?
It is not because what I said is untrue.
It is because of stupid Valentine’s Day – the “myth” it (along with society) has created as to what love should look like – and our ability to accept it.
And even worse – the myth we’ve embraced of what love is incapable of looking like.
Friends.
I am reclaiming
Valentine’s Day.
Can we make a pact?
Can we promise one another that we will take a hold of this day and CELEBRATE the love we have in our lives, whether it be friends, family, spouses, children?!?
Can we promise to allow the love of our Creator to fully engulf us?
Can we work together to allow this day to be one in which we love on the world in which we live just a little bit better?
I am
reclaiming
Valentine’s Day.
Join me.
“I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Ask yourself “How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?”
Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love.
Work without love is slavery.”
-Mother Theresa
I love your writing style! So well-crafted to showcase the beauty and depth of each phrase. 🙂 That quote by Mother Theresa… it reminds me of Paul’s exhortation in 1 Corinthians 13 – that without love, all our greatest gifts and abilities are little better than tinkling cymbals. In other words, what good are they? And then his inspired description of the love that should proceed the outpouring of those gifts… wow. If only we showed more of that kind of love to the world! What a different place it might be!
Valentine’s day is an interesting one, isn’t it? I always hated it, too. Now, my husband and I use it as a great family day. We have all kinds of special days with our kids and this is just another one, but I love redirecting the focus to how much we are loved by God!