Reposted from February 14, 2014:
You may have noticed that I’m not pushing a lot of mushy-gushy romantic love on my website– There’s a reason for that! Not everyone enjoys that emphasis to Valentines Day, especially when they don’t have that someone special to share those romantic feelings with!
While I’m not into the mushy-gushy side of Valentines, I have plenty of people I do love in my life: children, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, close friends…
Each of them is special to me, but there are so many of them, because I come from a large family, and have a lot of friends (especially online), that if I tried to go all-out on Valentines Day or any holiday by buying them lots of stuff, I would rapidly be in debt up to my eyebrows!
It sure wouldn’t take long at all–oh no.
So instead of pulverizing the piggy bank, I thought that maybe I would share some of my favorite memes instead that talk about hearts and love, and relationships.
What can be sweeter or gentler than a baby bird, unless it’s one cradled in the hands of a child?
And what is a greater demonstration of love than that we go out of our way to be kind to others and help them in Jesus’ name, as the verse on the meme calls to mind!
Broken hearts can also be a theme of Valentines Day. We’ve all seen the posts by friends who hate Valentines Day because it reminds them of everything they’ve lost or have never had, and they feel left out. God’s love for us runs larger and deeper than any loss or hurt, and He is able to comfort the brokenhearted.
And then there is forgiveness! We can’t earn forgiveness; we can only accept it. Forgiving is the ultimate act of love, because it allows us to restore our relationships after we’ve hurt each other. To be human is to stumble and fail, but to forgive is divine…
And lastly, to have a friend, you must be a friend. Friendship requires time and effort to grow. Our best friends are those we’ve laughed and cried, and maybe even quarreled with; those we’ve spent the most time with no matter what their circumstances of life. Those people we don’t just like; we love them for who they are, and feel warmed and comforted by the reciprocation of that love.
I hope you have such gifts in your life this Valentines Day: the sweetest, most innocent of love, kindness, giving, and generosity; God’s love that is so much bigger than anything another flawed human being can offer; forgiveness and relationship, and best of all, some really great friends.
Happy Valentine’s Day!