Food for Valentine's Thought...

Okay, so, I have never really actually appreciated this whole Valentine’s Day thing.  I don’t know, maybe as a kid I thought it was cool, but I really don’t remember ever thinking that.  I know in high school it pretty much came and went as no big deal, and I will confess that in college my roommate and I once made a point of going to the movies that evening dressed in all black to protest the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing.  And even when I was married it never seemed a really big deal – or at least not a big enough one for me to actually remember a special event or occasion or anything.  Okay, there was the year we ate our Valentine’s dinner at O’Charley's in Franklin, TN, but I really only remember that one because we were planning our strategy for getting through our first deployment and we found out later that while we were having that dinner Jolene was being born on the far side of the world... kinda memorable, but still not really about Valentine's Day.  So... 

          all that to say… 

                    I’m really not into this whole Valentine’s Day thing.

BUT…

          I have an idea.

What if this year we all did something a little different?  I know that the whole idea of the American Valentine’s Day is to tell those you love that you love them, but shouldn’t we be doing that every day?  

Cookies, flowers, candy, chocolate…  all those things are great, and Hallmark and Godiva make a killing off the whole Valentine’s thing, but really, why just this ONE day? (I guess that’s kind of my problem with the whole thing in the first place…)  

But I digress…

What if this year, instead of showering love on our spouses, children, significant others, best friends, etc…  we made a purposeful effort to show love to those who are the hardest to show love to?  (That doesn’t mean you can’t still shower the first list of folks with holiday greetings, I’m just suggesting a marked effort to do more this year.)

What if this year we all made a choice to do just one random act of kindness to share Valentine’s Day with someone we wouldn’t normally shower?

No, I’m not talking about sending flowers or buying jewelry for the neighbor who yells at your dog.  I’m just suggesting you reach out a bit and do one little thing for someone you would normally just leave alone.

How about leaving an apple or a muffin on the desk of that fellow employee who always looks miserable and rejected?

How about putting a candy bar in the box of that teacher who drives you crazy during staff meetings?

How about leaving a post-it note “Smile” on the computer monitor of that hard to love office mate while he or she is away from the cubicle for a minute?

How about leaving a “Have a great day” note on the windshield of your neighbor’s car?

Send an email… an e-card… a text message… or (heaven forbid!) a written note to that hard-to-love friend you usually avoid…

Just a simple message: 

     Thinking of you today.

          Praying for you today.

               Hoping you have a great day.

Or even something as novel as “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

This is my challenge this year.  To step out of my comfort zone and make Valentine’s Day a day that actually impacts someone beyond me and beyond those people who deep down know I love them whether I send them a cutesy “Bee Mine” valentine or not.  This year my goal is to make a difference.  Even if it is just a momentary flash of a smile brought by an unexpected gesture before that hard-to-love soul returns to being whatever form of grouchy made him/her difficult to love in the first place.

My kids have been reminding each other all week that “we love because He first loved us.”  Amen to that.  No one deserves to be loved.  But in God's eyes everyone is.  And everyone should have the opportunity to know that.  

So I challenge you to join me in my own little challenge – this Valentine’s Day, reach out of your comfort zone and show a little love to someone you would normally allow to remain in your peripheral vision. 

     Don’t do it for a thank you.

          Don’t do it to look good.

               Don’t do it in some effort to form good karma.

                    Don’t do it because I told you to. 
                       (Okay, maybe a little of that one is necessary…)

 Just go NIKE for a minute and Do It.

I promise you, if you reach out in even the most simplest way to change one second of someone else’s day, you yourself will be changed for the better by proxy.  As my kids’ keep saying (and singing…), “We love because He first loved us.”  And if that is your battle plan, well then, you've got this challenged aced.