I ran across some interesting facts about valentine cards…
. Approximately one billion Valentines are sent out world
wide each year according to estimates by the U.S. Greeting
Card Association. That’s second only to Christmas.
. Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all Valentines.
. Teachers will receive the most Valentine’s Day cards,
followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
I remember those days in grade school, decorating a shoe
box and putting a slot in the top of the box to receive valentines
from my classmates. My parents would purchase a
box of valentines that had one special valentine for the
teacher, along with varying sizes of valentines for friends. I
would give the bigger valentines to my closest
friends…usually the largest one for the girl I had the biggest
crush on at that time. When I got home that day I would
eagerly open the box and examine each valentine received.
We never grow out of that feeling of joy by having someone
special acknowledge their feelings for us. I still remember
giving my mother that huge bottle of “perfume” (at the
cost of twenty-five cents it was definitely not from Paris).
She knew it was not much more than colored
water but she expressed joy over receiving it. She did so
because it was a gift from her son and the price of the gift
made very little difference to her at that moment. To her, as
the Mastercard commercial reminds us, the gift was priceless.
As I think of this I am reminded of a verse of Scripture
that has always amazed me…"The Lord your God is with
you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight
in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will
rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). This
verse truly speaks of a priceless and precious gift…the Lord
Himself rejoices over His child with singing. He shows His
love toward me in so many ways.
This leads me to ask the question: “How do I show my
love for Him?” I show Him love primarily through my obedience.
As an obedient child is a delight to a parent, so an
obedient child is a delight to his/her heavenly Father.
As we take time on Valentine’s Day to express our love
to those whom we love, let’s remember that our lives ought
to constantly express our love to God through our willing
obedience to Him
God bless you and let me perhaps be the first this year
to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day.
I am your servant in Christ,
