Valentines Day can quite arguably be the best day ever or the worst day ever... I don't think there's an in between. Unfortunately in my case, I have a track record of the latter. But this year all of that changes.
This superficial holiday has been known for breaking the hearts of many starting even at a young age. The perception that not having a Valentine means that you're inadequate or not likeable is a lie that has been hard to beat with society's approach to this make believe holiday.
My earliest Valentine's Day memory goes back to the 2nd grade. It was my turn for snack day and my dad, whom I wasnt being raise by, told me he would bring the snack this time. Back then, my relationship with him wasn't the best but as a child you believe anything especially out of the mouth of a parent. This was a big day for me so the night before I made sure all of my exclusive Lisa Frank Valentines Day card were written out so that when he arrived the next morning at school with heart shaped cupcakes, it would be a total win!
Well, the next morning I get to class, we start preparing to pass out cards and everyone is looking around because snack time wasn't as lit as I had hyped it up to be. After waiting and waiting.... my dad never showed up. Disappointed and embarrassed to say the least, what happened next left a stain in my heart, even 16 years later.
See, my ex-BFF (who had recently stopped being my friend because she believed a rumour that a jealous girl spread my absence at ex-BFF's birthday party that she wasn't even invited too *insert heavy eye roll*) got a surprise visit from her father who was a police office at the time. He came in the class in uniform, holding a life size teddy bear, a balloon, card, a rose and the new 3LW album that had just dropped and in front of the entire class asked if she would be his Valentine. And for the first time, at 7 years old, I believed the lie of inadequacy.
I remember crying to my mother that evening wondering why my daddy never showed up, and why did he want to be my valentine like my ex-bff's dad did. My mom reassured me that my daddy didn't mean to, he got carried away with work (which was probably a lie) and that he was going to make it up one day. And more importantly that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God who loves me a million times more than even she does so I don't have to ever feel that way. Hearing those words definitely made me feel better as a 7 year old little girl. I felt loved and unforgotten.
But as time progressed, and my perception of love, dating and relationships evolved congruent with society's, it made it harder and harder to believe. I didn't hear those subtle yet impactful reminders as often so I searched for them myself.
Fast forward to this morning, I received a phone call from my guy friend who wished me a Happy Valentine's Day and told me how much I mean to him. Hearing him express his love for me made me feel differently today than when he does it any other day because for once I was no longer the chairman of Single's Awareness Day, so mentally I felt like I made it. But hearing it actually did so much more for me.
Upon hanging up I laid in the bed and thought about it. I'm not being showered with lavish gifts, roses, chocolates etc. yet being reminded that I mean something to someone brightened my day. How much more could I do the same for someone else who may need to be reminded that they are loved? Someone who may be mourning the loss of a loved one, or having just experienced a bad break up, or maybe even lost their job, who simply needs to be reminded of who they are?
So today I'm challenging every one of my subscribers, whether married, engaged, dating, or single as a Pringle to love on someone today. Remind someone that they are special, thought of and appreciated. Break up someone's bitterness by being compassionate. Even if you don't have any physical gifts to give, the power of love is a mighty force.