This time of year is filled with memories.
As Valentine's Day passes, I always remember.
I think of when my bigs were littles and they made
sweet little cards for their school friends.
They decorated boxes and exchanged lollipops.
They came home covered in sugar dust
and torn paper and glittered hearts.
They were learning about what it means to love others
to include others
to make sure there is enough for everyone
and that no one leaves with an empty cardboard box.
Unfortunately, life is not so kind.
And as they grew, as we all do,
they found that sometimes "love" is
short lived
misunderstood
not authentic
ill intentioned
...and doesn't include all.
We all know broken promises of love.
Some are heavier than others.
We all know what it means to feel included
...and to feel left out.
We all have experienced a broken heart
in
one
way
or another.
So.
Valentine's Day has its up and downs.
It also has its lessons.
And despite its shortcomings...
it does remind us to love.
It can introduce, if we let it,
A Season of Love.
Not one day of overpriced roses
and chalk tasting candy heart stamped messages.
But a gentle invitation to love -
God
others
ourselves.
That was what Jesus wanted for us.
An acceptance that we ALL are included.
And no one should ever go home with an empty cardboard box.
So.
I think of being a little girl myself.
And of the small cardboard heart box
of Russell Stovers candies
that my dad (okay, let's admit it was my mom!)
always got for me.
And although my dad is gone now...
...I never see a box of 4 little chocolates
with a cartoon cover
and a silly message
that I do not think of his love for me
and for us.
It is the little things
that we return to
time and time again -
Calling on the affection of those who have
modeled love for us
that inspire us to love
a world bigger than us -
the ones that are our very hearts -
those different than us -
the ones that are desperate to be included -
and to offer that love warmly to ourselves as well.
So.
Valentine's is over. We are on to the next.
But will you let this little day beckon you to a new season of love?
One that doesn't stop with the passing of a day -
but that becomes your very being.
Will you be able to draw on your own disappointment
so that others may not leave with broken hearts? Will you be able to pay forward the gifts of love you have
so generously received
so that others might know what it is to be cherished?
Make love your way.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
-1 John 4:8
The ability to love yourself is intimately related to your capacity to love others. The challenge is creating a life that allows you to fulfill both needs.
-Bishop Michael Curry - Love is the Way, page 96
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