Be My Valentine?

This Valentine's Day is EXTRA special! It is the first Valentine's Day I've ever been able to spend with a special someone, but it is also the first Valentine's Day that I get to share with my wonderful husband! Not only that, but he managed to get the day off. Considering that, so far, one or both of us has worked on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and both of our birthdays, getting to spend Valentine's Day together is an extraordinary treat! My honey has made dinner reservations for us - he won't tell me where, but he's quite proud of himself for getting them. And I have a few surprises up my own sleeve (*wink*) ahem...

Of course, as everyone does around Valentine's Day, I've been thinking about love. What is love?

Love is sacrifice. Love is laying down your life for another. Love is putting another's needs and desires before your own.

In day-to-day life, love is back rubs when you're tired, breakfast when you don't want to be awake, and getting up in the middle of the night because someone is sick. Love is cleaning the toilet, taking out the trash, making the bed, and knowing when to answer the phone and when to turn it off. Love is long talks when something's on your mind and long hugs when you wake up from a nightmare. Love is a long-distance call from my parents, a friend who is willing to listen, a family member who won't let you give up, and a Savior that died so that we can live.

That's what love looks like to me. And if I had nothing else in the world, I would be incredibly, unbelievably, overwhelmingly blessed just to love and be loved.

Very little is known about St. Valentine. Through all the legends surrounding his existence, however, a common thread runs. St. Valentine was a priest, an avid follower of Jesus Christ, and a courageous man willing to stand up for his beliefs. When his faith was challenged, he boldly stood his ground, declared Jesus to be the only way, and miracles happened. When the government outlawed soldiers marrying, he performed weddings in secret because he believed in God's law above man's and love over hate. He was eventually martyred for refusing to renounce his faith in Jesus. It is fitting that the day named for him should celebrate not only the cheesy, romantic, commercialized love but true sacrificial love, since he sacrificed everything for believing in that love.

Well, I'm off to finish planning my surprises for my sweetheart. He has no idea what he's in for! I wish a happy Valentine's Day to you - and, if applicable, to yours!

...

P.S. Side note... If there is nobody special in your life this Valentine's Day, I understand how it feels to be alone - I was there up until this year. Please don't become cynical. Instead of focusing on your loneliness, celebrate the sacrificial love of a Savior who gave everything just to be with you. Ask Him to be your valentine, and you might just find it is the best Valentine's Day ever!