We are celebrating love today. It doesn’t matter if you believe in this specific date or not, the importance is to realize that LOVE WINS. Always. A few years back I went to the root of all the feasts we celebrate, including Christmas. What I found was an eye opener. Do we spend our money to buy gifts with money we don’t have just to please people? Is this pleasing to God?
I have gone a mile with my newfound knowledge. My sons woke up that Christmas without a tree or a gift, without a smile and without excitement. In our household, I was the only smiling, and mind you – I had a chap on my shoulder. I started burning all things that was ‘pagan’ and threw away all the china-cheap. After all – this is a pagan country with an evil root. I went as far as throwing away gospel CD’s with (which I thought) a sketchy background. It was then that a dear friend stopped me in my tracks with the following words: “The root of all things is God. He is the Creator. Satan, the Copier, came and defiled all the good that God has created.
Why do many celebrate Valentine’s day? Man cannot live alone or live on love alone. The history of this day is pretty dark, not sprinkled with red rose leaves as we may think. These roses have thorns, with St Valentine maybe the biggest thorn in the flesh. Here are a few facts (not so scary) that may surprise you:
In the 1300’s, Valentine’s day became a holiday associated with love. There was a common belief in France and England that birds started their mating season on 14 February.
Esther Holand (in the 1840’s) gets the credit for commercializing Valentine’s day – she is known for the cards with lace and ribbons in America.
Through the years, more and more cards were made and before we knew it, gifts started to take its place. In 2020 a record-breaking $27, 4 billion was spent on gifts in America.
Conversation hearts got their start as medical lozenges through a pharmacist, Oliver Chase. Then, in 1866, he shifted his focus to candy.
The popular signature, XOXO, did not always mean hugs and kisses. It stems from the Middle Ages – the X (a Christian cross) symbolized an oath. From there it became “sealed with a kiss”.
William Shakespeare also inspired a tradition with his ‘Letters to Juliet’
In earlier days there were Valentines festivals - gatherings where they read poetry. Nowadays, it is a festival observed to express love between friends and family – a sign of appreciation. We are sending messages of love and affection, to honor the love for each other. We spend quality time with loved ones. It is a celebration of love in all forms.
This day may be a hard knock for singles – and uneventful day, being broke, or feeling broken. You are feeling left out – the only person without a partner. Don’t let the media make you feel bad or sad about your relationship status. It is only one day of the year. Make plans about what to do when you go solo. Shift your attention to yourself. Be kind to yourself:
Order your favorite meal from a restaurant
Try a new workout or exercise regime
Write a gratitude journal
Pick flowers from your garden, or plant them
Watch your favorite movie…again
Arrange a sundowner: mocktails or cocktails with friends (not a pity party)
Reach out - brighten someone else’s day
Practice self-compassion – show yourself much deserved love and kindness. Make the day memorable. This is not only a day for lovers, but for all those whom we love. When you give, you will receive.
Why do we come up with so many excuses to not share love? Low budget or not, in this frail condition of love and romance, we can certainly afford to spread love. Don’t let love die together with a dead budget.
Friends, God IS love. Whether you celebrate today, 14 February, or not, celebrate LOVE. Believe in the importance of love, and for love to blossom, it needs to be communicated. Don’t just say it in words, let it be accompanied with actions. Get sentimental about love. It does not have to cost you anything:
Stroll in the fresh open air,
Wander on a hiking trail
Watch the sunrise/sunset
Share a message of love about the best love story ever told. Send these verses to friends and family:
1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us”
Colossians 3:14 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony”
Song of Solomon 2:16 “My lover is mine and I am his.”
1 John 3:18 “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth.”
My two favorite verses:
1 John 4:7-12: “Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God, whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loves us, we also ought to love on another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us”
John 15: 13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”
Don’t allow the devil to steal LOVE from you! Get back to the Root and bear fruit – fruit of love.
“Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand” – Mother Teresa
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