This week we will celebrate another major holiday.  It has become so large that as the retailers are dismantling their shelves and taking down the Christmas decorations, they immediately replace them with Valentine’s decorations, cards, candy, balloons, etc.   For me it is yet another holiday that brings to mind the question, “Why all of this for just one day?”  If you been a follower of my blogs, you know that I love holidays, but I cannot help but wonder why so much is put into celebrating one day and then the very next day life goes back to business as usual.

Valentine’s Day is a day to focus on those you love, spouses, significant others, children, etc.  In the past, my husband’s philosophy about certain holidays and birthdays used to really frustrate me.  He feels why should people go overboard on holidays – why not just show your love, affection, and appreciation on a continual basis.   Although, he doesn’t subscribe to his own philosophy when it comes to me – he goes overboard whenever the whim hits him!  Guess I’m pretty special!!   Nevertheless, I have come to agree with him from the standpoint that love and appreciation goes so much farther when shown for no big reason – JUST BECAUSE. 

Those same things that we pay dear for (because we all know that prices escalate for flowers, cards, candy) on special days like Valentine’s Day will be appreciated just as much when received on a day that’s not a holiday.  The Lord is our greatest example of love JUST BECAUSE.  There is nothing we could ever do to merit His love, He just freely gives it to us.  Deuteronomy 7: 7 (NIV)  tells us,“The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.  But it was because the Lord loved you . . .” Following this perfect example set by our Lord and Savior, if you truly love someone it should not have to be anything they merit or qualify for, or even any day that man’s calendar dictates.  The love you demonstrate should be JUST BECAUSE!

What a happier place the world would be, and what great examples of God’s kind of love we would display if for no reason at all other than genuine love and concern you did something meaningful to show it.  You can send a card (Hallmark has every kind of card you can imagine to express your feelings and emotions), make a phone call or send a text just to say “I love you” / “I care about you”.   I think if we looked at our spending budget over the course of a year, we all would discover that we spend money unnecessarily from time to time.   How about adding up those unnecessary expenditures and earmarking them for something meaningful for someone dear to you – dinner, lunch, flowers, or a small gift.

Finally, but certainly no less important I am making a concerted effort to verbally express my appreciation even when I cannot appreciate someone to the degree my heart wants to tangibly.  Ironically, those magical little words we drill into our children – “PLEASE, and THANK YOU” are not used by us as adults as often as they should be!  Being complimentary of others and admitting our mistakes goes a long way and sometimes is a true “gift” to the one on the receiving end.  “I AM SORRY, YOU LOOK PRETTY, I APPRECIATE YOU, HOW CAN I HELP, I AM HERE FOR YOU, I AM PRAYING FOR YOU (and genuinely meaning it) are all beautiful expressions of true love and affection.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Source: First Lady Denise