Love Those Valentines

Without Valentine's Day, February would be... well, January. ~Jim Gaffigan

Isn’t that the truth? Except for the 8^th and the 19^th (our wedding anniversary and our middle daughter’s birthday) this winter-disliker finds January to be bleak and blustery, cold and cloudy. Even the sunny days are freezingly marred by frigidity. We need Valentine’s Day to perk things up.

When our girls were little I tried my hardest to bring a little festive fun and frivolity into the mid-winter day (I like alliteration, can you tell??!!). At supper time we tinted our milk pink. I made yeast rolls, adding some red food coloring to the liquid in the recipe and letting them rise in a heart shaped pan. There was red jello (molded in a heart-shaped pan, of course) and meat loaf – which was also molded into the shape of the day and topped with red ketchup. It all went atop a red tablecloth and we politely wiped our faces with Valentine’s Day napkins. Very often we topped off our meal with – are you ready for it – a heart-shaped cake with red cherries on top. Each person also received some little Valentine gift. Nothing big, but just some little something. It was a Valentine’s Day supper all the way: everything that could possibly be red or pink was red or pink. It was fun to make it and it was fun to eat it. (Incidentally, we did the same thing on St. Patrick’s Day – just switched the color from red/pink to green!)

Nowadays there’s no more meatloaf, as the daughters informed me that delicacy is no longer on their wish list; and since they are all in their thirties I can’t make them eat it anymore! But we still pull out the red tablecloth, the holiday napkins and everyone still gets a special treat. Because, you know what? Each beloved family member is a special treat and love needs to be celebrated.

Whether or not you think Valentine’s Day is just a “Hallmark holiday,” I encourage you to make the day special for somebody, or those lots of “somebodies” who are permanently imbedded in your heart. Think of a way to show them just how glad you are that God placed them in your life. Whether it’s a husband, a wife, a child, a grandchild or a friend, let them know they are loved in a fun, tangible and memorable way.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8