Valentines

When I was a kid, Valentine’s Day was a special day at school. Some elementary classrooms appointed a committee to decorate a box to hold the valentines the students brought. In other classes, the teacher provided a box already decorated to hold the valentines until time to distribute them. In my day, students didn’t usually bring a valentine for every child in the classroom. I don’t know how the teachers handled this opportunity for hurt feelings or the danger of a child not receiving any valentines at all. Since several children were given the responsibility of taking a handful of envelopes from the box and carrying them to the various children whose names were written on the envelope, we couldn’t keep track of how many everyone one received. But I was aware that some of my classmates received many more Valentines than I did. However, I received enough to feel quite satisfied and never noticed if anyone was totally left out. We didn’t open them in class. We carried ours home to open later which probably helped reduce comparisons. Later when my children were in elementary school, the custom was to make one for every child in the class. The teacher supplied a list. There was still the possibility of receiving a silly, joking card from someone who you wanted to send you a sweet one.

Who would think a Valentine exchange could be so fraught with potential for hurt! If we know it, we all have the same opportunity to receive the best Valentine of all—the opportunity to receive the love of God. No one is left out. There are no favorites when it comes to the love of God. All we need to do is ask Him to show us His love and to teach us how to recognize it when we experience it. Ask Him to open our eyes and ears and help us recognize His love in action. Be alert. You might be the vessel He uses to show someone else His grace and His unending love.