So, I have a dear friend, who will at times, find a letter that she wrote to me months ago, and will still send it even though the news might be old...and I love it! That's how I feel about this post. However, it is only about a week old, but I wanted to post it anyway...
I have had some memorable Valentine's Day moments, not by choice, but what do you do. It has been an up and down day in my life, but here are some thoughts and memories:
Looking back on my life, I remember being about 15 or 16. It was Valentine's Day morning, and I heard a knock on the door. It was a flower delivery man with a beautiful bouquet of flowers-I can't remember exactly what they looked like, but I do remember thinking, "How cool. A secret admirer!" Obviously, I had been reading too many chick lit books! You can imagine how an uncool, shy kid like myself would be pretty stoked about the idea. However, that dream was quickly shot down when the flower man said, "Are you Jessy?" That was when I realized that the flowers were not for me, but for my gorgeous, blond, blue-eyed best friend (at the time)/neighbor. "Of course," I thought to myself...it all made sense!
After that Valentine's Day, I normally spent the day in depression with
Pride & Prejudice playing on a loop, non-stop.... okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but you get the picture.
A few years of that went by, when I felt like God really spoke to me about Valentine's Day. He reminded me that it was a day He made... I'm supposed to rejoice and be glad in it regardless if I got flowers or if I spent the day alone watching
Pride & Prejudice. What mattered then, and what still matters, is our love for Him and His love for us. We have a daily choice to make, will we love Him? Will we rejoice no matter our circumstances?
After that epoch/epiphany, I made a choice to enjoy my Valentine's Day regardless of how I spend it....
Last year after my epiphany, my embarrassment level reached an all-time high when the men's music fraternity at
Muskingum came to our office to sing for the President. Much to my chagrin, she was not there, but I was. The guys then asked if they could sing for me instead. What could I say? As all six of them proceeded to get down on their knees, hand me a rose, and basically see me turn multiple shades of red, I would have to say that was one of the most memorable Valentine's Day experiences I have ever had. Thankfully, this year the President was in the office!!
This year was probably the best V-Day I have had in awhile...one of my friends has been down in the dumps lately...so we went to the movies, saw a chick-flick, laughed our heads off, enjoyed delicious food at the Forum, and found some great clothes on sale!!! Granted, I have done similar things with other friends on Valentine's Day, but what made this day special was the chance to participate in something that Pastor Burt just talked to us about on Sunday--fellowship. In
Ecclesiastes, we are reminded to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and to mourn with those who are mourning, and I think that is all a part of fellowship. I was able to share in my dear friend's sadness, and hopefully, was able to help her turn her mourning into rejoicing--at least for the day.
Here's to another Valentine's Day--may they live long and be as prosperous as the one we just shared.
