WILL Y♥U BE MY VALENTINE...?

First of all, I thought that this was adorable:

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck.
- Rick, age 10

Valentine's Day used to be my favorite holiday, not because of how romantic it was or because I had a special someone to share it with. No, Valentine's Day was my favorite holiday because in elementary school it was a day that meant I could enjoy copious amounts of candy, courtesy of my classmates.(You might wonder, what about Halloween? Well that was a holiday that we did not celebrate in our family and therefore I never got to reap the "benefits" of trick-or-treating.)You remember, everyone in the class bought those bulk cheesy one-line Valentine's cards for the entire class and attached some kind of sweet heart-shaped chocolate or something. My 2nd grade Valentine's day was particularly memorable because I had 40(yes, 40) kids in my class so that meant 40 different Valentine's!

Anyways, Valentine's day is a holiday that I am somewhat indifferent to. Sure you get to wear Valentine-y colors like pink and red. And sure you can go on dates and watch romantic movies. I am not one of those girls who goes around trying to make awesome romantic plans so as to not be alone on this day, nor am I one of those girls who laments over my singleness and lack of a boy to spend it with. For me, it is just a day that I can relax and cherish my singleness while spending quality time with my One and Only Valentine.

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Today happened to be the best Valentine's Day that I've had thus far. WHY you might ask? I got to spend it worshiping Jesus, learning about wisdom, going to Starbucks with my dear Breezy, baking Valentine cookies and doing life with my small group girls, going to house church and getting roses from the boys, and then going to the Westfalls to watch a series on Songs of Solomon! Not only was today filled with delightful fellowship with dear friends, it was spent focusing on Jesus, basking in the love that He has lavished upon me and enjoying the gift of fellowship that He has blessed me with.

I really feel like I am at the point where Jesus is enough for me. I know that as a Christian, I probably should have reached that point at conversion but, lets just be honest. IT'S HARD. We want to be satisfied in Christ alone but yet we still try and find fulfillment in other places. God has really been taking me through a season of understanding His unconditional love for me; a love that doesn't increase or decrease based on my actions or thoughts. I think it's hard to wrap my mind around it because it's so counter-cultural. That's ok, though. I don't want a God whose love for me I can understand or wrap my mind around. Think about it, if we could understand God, that would diminish Him SO SO so much. Anyways, I'm learning to accept His love. It's one thing to know in your head that He loves you but it's another thing to accept that love. I really think that acceptance of God's love is a crucial part in giving that love to others, after all, you can't give what you don't have.

So this Valentine's day was cool because I got to celebrate a love that is higher than all other loves. The greatest love that anyone has ever known, that overcame the cross and grave to save my soul. That's what I'm celebrating today :)

Did you have a good Valentine's Day? Did you hang out with your significant other? Were you alone :( ? Did you have elaborate plans? Where simple but still fun? I'd love to hear!