This is Love

Did you know that the estimated total spending for Valentine's Day is $18.2 billion?  That is a whopping $136.57 per person.  Hmmm... I don't know which people they are counting, but it sure is NOT me.  This used to make me feel so unloved and unworthy and it would manifest itself in anger and resentment toward my husband.  My husband would come home with sad looking flowers that I was sure he bought from the street vendor.  Or chocolates from the supermarket.  I wanted Godiva, personally ordered from the store.  Then there was the time he finally just said, why don't you just get what you want? Where's the thought in that?  Where's the romance?

What I failed to understand was that my husband's love language was different from mine.  These days, we don't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day.  I've learned to embrace the surprises he would bring me on other days of the year.  Because that's how he is. It took a few years for me to accept this.  And even if he misses the mark.  Even if he really doesn't give a hoot about making me feel special for Valentine's Day, I'm ok with that, too.

Last week, I put out the Love Yourself Challenge in an effort to ease the feeling of loneliness or unworthiness that hit many women at this time of the year.  However, I could not shake off the conviction that there are MANY married women who are where I was a few years ago.  Married women who feel lonely and unloved by their husbands because they didn't get a piece of that $18.2 billion spent on Valentine's Day.  Here's the thing... gifts do not measure someone's love.  AND if your husband doesn't make you feel appreciate or loved, SOMEONE ELSE IS CRAZY AND MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU.  HE HAS BEEN RIGHT THERE WITH YOU OFFERING YOU HIS LOVE.  It was HIS LOVE that helped me accept my husband's lack of romantic antics for Valentine's Day.  Because HIS LOVE isn't manufactured by Hollywood or the Hallmark Channel.  HIS LOVE is worth more than $136.57. This HE I am talking about is GOD.

The love described here is AGAPE love.  This is love that is sacrificial, unconditional, perfect and pure.  This is the kind of love that bled and hung on the cross for you. It is audacious love.  Love that has been extended to you without you having to do ANYTHING.  Love that will always be there for you in your ugly moments.  Love that stays even if you've gained weight.  Here's the thing, there is NOBODY on this planet that can love you with this AGAPE love.  Even the most devoted and romantic man cannot do this.   This love will never fail you.  Will you accept this love?