Valentine’s Day…UGH!

I seriously have an issue with Valentine’s Day. As a kid my parents did give us candy and tell us they loved us. At school I got candy and those little cards that get thrown away almost as soon as you get home. I gave them too. As I got older, I secretly wished a certain boy would send me a card that shared secret feelings. I hoped and wished, always to be disappointed. Even if I received a card from a certain boy that said something like “Be Mine” I could never be sure if he really wanted me or if he gave that same card to everyone.

Then middle school came around and high school. Every Valentine’s day I knew I didn’t have anyone “special,” but I wanted someone. So I quietly tried to squash the hope that rose in me each year, a hope that was repeatedly disappointed. UGH! Valentine’s Day. Sure now that I am married, I have enjoyed many Valentine’s Days. I have my true Valentine. The one who asked me forever and offered his forever to me.

I look at my kids and groan. Valentine’s Day at school. Inevitably someone ends up with hurt feelings. Little hearts are filled with hope that another little heart will give them approval. I see it on Facebook statuses, like this one:

Copy this to your status and see what you get INBOXED!(:
GOLD : Be my valentine this year?
RED: I used to like you..
ORANGE: You will be mine
……GREEN: I wanna date you!
BLUE: I love you
PURPLE: I wanna chill
PINK: I like you
YELLOW: Your sweet
WHITE: You’re funny
BROWN: You’re amazing
SILVER: You’re cute(:

Approval, love, acceptance…We all want it. We want to know others love us, like us, think we are good-looking. Yet we already have all the acceptance we need in God. He loves you despite knowing all of you (Psalm 139). Not just the you that you try hard to portray. God knows you and loves you. God sent His Son to die for YOU!

So how do I teach my kids to “guard your heart” (Prov 4:23) when in this world we are placing our hearts out there to be filled by anyone? I am not perfect, but this is what I told them. I want them to know on everyday, but especially the day the world celebrates love that God loves them and that mommy and daddy love them. I want their hearts filled with God’s love and the love of their parents so they don’t need to offer their hearts to others until it is time. As Song of Solomon suggests (at least three times), “Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”

My goal is to use this day to teach my kids real love. The 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love that is only from God and can only be lived out with the Holy Spirit working it out in us. I pray my husband and I live it out in front of our kids. I pray we pour Godly love into them. I seek to make this day about His kind of love, not our sinful messed up kind. In case you are wondering, yes my sweet husband will be giving me a token of his affection today as I will for him.

What do you think about Valentine’s Day? What are you teaching your kids, friends, family about love?

Hang around leave a comment.