Happy Valentine’s Day Saturday, friends!
I realize this holiday is not a favorite for a lot of people. In fact, for some, it’s a painful reminder of loss.
And, to be honest, I’m not overly enthusiastic about it as a holiday. I’m not opposed to it, it’s just not a big deal because Mrs. Sweetie and I are pretty valentine-ish (valentine-y?) the other 364 days of the year.
Our first Valentine’s Day together was in 1984—just 18 days after our first date and just 143 days before our wedding.
Early on, I tried to be especially romantic on February 14. We’d do special things that we couldn’t afford to do all the time.
But over the years, I’ve discovered that romance is much more about how you show up every day than it is about special occasions.
That doesn’t mean we don’t do special. We absolutely do! It just means that we are not surviving from one special occasion to the next.
15 years ago, Valentine’s Day took on an additional meaning. It’s our second son’s birthday. He was already 23 when we got him on January 1 of that year (when he married our daughter), so his valentine birthday was his 24th.
I took him to lunch a couple of days ago and we talked about him turning 39. I let him know that I will give him an appropriately hard time next year on his 40th. (Of course he’ll be able to give me an appropriately hard time on my 65th a couple of months before he turns 40).
I’m just thinking today that my life is good, whether I’m celebrating a special occasion or not.
But it’s all about perspective. There are people who have far more than I have who are miserable. There are people who have far less that are completely contented.
It’s about what you notice on the ordinary, in-between days.
This morning my hymn text was the famous “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.” (Not every hymnal has that in its entirety—maybe because it is 6 pages long—but my current hymnal does).
I’ve sung it enough over the years that I pretty much have the bass part memorized.
Sometimes we may get so focused on the “hallelujahs” (45 of them in the bass line), that we may miss the other stated reasons for all those hallelujahs.
“For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”“The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.”“And He shall reign forever and ever.”“King of kings and Lord of Lords.”
Those affirmations are not only true on special occasions.
They are also true on the ordinary, in-between days.
They are true on the hard days.
They are true on the lonely days.
They are true on the sick days.
Those affirmations of good news cannot be drowned out by bad news.
Unless we choose to focus on the hard, the loneliness, the sickness, the bad news.
God shows up every day, even if it’s not dramatic.
How do we show up as followers of Jesus?
Be amazing today, my friend.
