I've never had a boyfriend or date on Valentine's Day.
With outside pressures and my desire for dating and marriage, Valentine's day became a 24-hour period of commercialism and over-the-top PDA (public displays of affection) that rubbed salt in my singleness wounds. Somewhere along the way, I adopted the phrase "Singleness Awareness Day" to try and acknowledge us singles who didn't have a boo to love on. But that did little to appease my distaste for the retched holiday.
Finally, thankfully, I have turned a new leaf. As I have entered into a new season in my life, where I actually like being single and am grateful for the life I have, my view of Valentine's Day has transformed.
To my single friends of the world, young and old, male and female, always single or single again:
We can still have love. Love is not reserved for couples.
My current favorite verses come from 1 John 4: 11 & 12: "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one 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."
When we love each other, we experience God in a deeper way. When we love each other, we are made more complete.
So who can you love today? Family? Friends? Maybe you need to start with yourself. Or maybe you are feeling adventurous and could do an act of love to a complete stranger - pay for the food of the person behind you in line, give someone walking by a flower, or give a gift to your neighbor.
Let's change the perspective of this day from "Happy Couples Day" to "Happy Love Day." As you go out there in the world of pinks and reds, roses, chocolate,
desperate romantic movies and PDA, remember that everyone, even couples, can use some
more love. And you have the ability to do something about that.
Spread the love, my friends.
