halmark may be on to something

halmark has demoralized valentine's day. they have turned it into a money making racket thus creating a bunch of cynics. "valentines day is just a made up holiday!" "valentine's day exsists just so corporate america can make more money!" "jewlery, chocolates or flowers is all women want on valentine's day"
however, i think this is sad because valentines day has all the potential in the world of being at least one of the top 3 "christian" holidays. christmas would be number one. i mean, obviously the day Jesus was born would have to be number one, right? the number two spot would go to easter. some would probably even argue that it should be number one, but personally i think you have to be born first. so the number two spot goes to easter. but the number three spot, i would argue, should go to valentine's day for sure. why? you ask. let me explain.

while micah was at school, i had hung up a heart garland that i had found while i was cleaning out a closet. and then before dinner i cut out a bunch of hearts and sewed them on the sewing machine and hung them up over our table. so tonight at dinner the conversation naturally turned to the topic of love. micah's school had sent home valentine grams. it's a fundraiser at school for the junior class, but basically you can write a nice note to someone and they give them candy or a flower or something like that for $ .50. we talked about friends and who he would like to send one of the grams to. i told him that would be fine to send one to a friend. he also said that he didn't think he needed to send one to daddy too because he had done that last year. i told him that i thought it would be a good idea to send it to both of them.
i asked him if he knew why i loved valentine's day so much. he said he didn't. i told him that i loved valentine's day so much because it was a holiday set aside just to celebrate love. he thought for awhile and then he said. i think we should write down why God loves us. "there are alot of verses in the Bible that talk about how much He loves us aren't there buddy?" he agreed. let's try to think of three of them, he said to me. right away this one came to my mind and i said, for God so Loved the world that he gave us his only son. micah eyes lit up and without over explaining it at all he got it. we can love because He loved us.

i know halmark has made this a holiday that most people groan over. i know it is primarily sold as a day set aside for significant others, but you know what i think? i think it is a day, that christians, especially should celebrate. so bust out your red or pink and say i love you.
our conversation made me want to call my sister, my two brothers, their spouses and all of their children and say, i love you. it made me want to call my 3 sister-in-laws, their pesky husbands, my nephews and my beautiful nieces just to say a quick i love you. i found myself wanting to call my parents and matt's parents and say, hey, just in case you forgot i want to tell you how much i love you. i wanted to call matt instantly and tell him, i really really love YOU matt harrison. i was able to say it to micah. and then to beatrix and once pips woke up i said it to her too. i want to be the sort of person that spreads love around like every day is valentine's day. even if it is cheesy. i don't even care that halmark has turned it into a joke. there is something beautiful about setting a whole day aside just to tell those you love that you do in fact feel that way.

maybe, valentine's day should be number ONE of the top "christian" holidays to celebrate.
after all, without love there wouldn't have been christmas or easter.