It is Valentine's Day today. My husband and I never celebrate Valentine's Day, for two reasons:
1) It is overshadowed by his birthday on the following day.
2) We believe that one should show love everyday, in every way.
[Tangent: My husband numbers and lists things, even in speech. I picked this habit up from him. Cute, isn't it?]
But today, on this Valentine's Day, my husband and I are helping our church host a Valentine's Day dinner (with free babysitting). Are we contradicting ourselves? I think not.
Because tonight, we will be celebrating marriage, which is something that our culture does not uphold greatly anymore. Romantic love is idolized and flaunted, but marriage is seen as old-fashioned and unnecessary. If people could only see what a beautiful godly marriage looks like! Stop watching the movies where kids are hooking up and adults are having affairs! Stop watching the TV shows full of stereotypical weak husbands and nagging wives. Observe my friends Ben and Judy, who are now experiencing Alzheimer's together. They patiently serve each other and joyfully play together, even in the midst of a dark fog of uncertainty. This is the definition of love. This is the trust and persistence that God intends for marriage. And, this is what people long for, unconditional love that does not fade away when the sun comes up.
As author and comedian Gene Perret once said, "Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day." My husband and I will be celebrating tonight by encouraging couples to laugh together, to remember the days of courtship and anticipation, and to always live in the light of knowing that they really did marry the best person.
And I also want to say that, tonight, the free babysitting will be provided by the youth in our church. Any event that brings multiple generations together, serving each other, gets a gold star from me!
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