By: Ruth McDonald
There is so much chocolate and hype for this annual celebration of love and romance, isn’t there? It’s supposed to be a happy holiday, but for some of us, it can be a bit awkward. My 2 single kids jokingly call it “Singleness Awareness Day” or SAD.
I always wanted to play hooky from school on that day each year. As a shy, serious, and socially awkward teen, I dreaded homeroom on that particular morning like the plague Each year, the cheerleaders sponsored a fundraiser for students to send “Kiss-grams” or flowers or some such thing to their favorite people. I wanted to crawl under my desk as the perky popular girls received armloads of affirmation and I received none. It was the most humiliating day of the year for girls like me.
It was different in elementary school, of course. We all decorated our own mailboxes in anticipation of the deluge of cards we would receive. Every student gave every other student a card because it was mandatory. I do remember choosing the most deluxe valentines in the set for those I liked the best and sometimes taping a special sucker to the envelope. I also picked the cards I least liked for the classmates I least liked (which, now that I think about it, was fairly passive-aggressive for a child, wasn’t it?)
I have 4 children, and I love them all. Not equally, exactly, because they’re such different people. It’s impossible to measure my affection or rank them in any kind of order. Each of them thrills my heart with deep, inexpressible joy. On some days, one of them makes me especially happy and I jokingly tell them “You’re my favorite!” But they all know that coveted position will shift to one of the others before they turn around.
While God may be a bit more pleased with my behavior at certain times and less at others, His love for me never wavers. The very idea that I’d like to be His favorite only serves to showcase the self-centeredness of my nature. And yet, it does thrill my heart to know that He “rejoices over me with singing.” The God of the entire universe serenades me on Valentine’s Day and every other day of my life! And it’s more than okay with me that He does the same for you.
I hope you receive flowers, chocolates, and expressions of love and friendship today. But even if you don’t, please imagine yourself holding armloads of Valentines – the best in the box. God doesn’t love anyone else more than He loves you. YOU are the apple of His eye, His treasure, His special someone.
Shine! 