Dear you,
The one who’s never been or is no longer someone’s valentine. The one who dreads the image of heart-shaped boxes full of chocolate (except for the chocolate. Nobody dreads the chocolate). The one who watches their newsfeed fill up with pictures of friends and their significant others.
As the fourteenth day of February draws near, so does reality. Most probably wish that you could go back to the days of elementary school for Valentine's Day. The days where your parents sent you to school with a valentine for each and every kid in the class, the days when you took half the day off to exchange valentines (and barter with the other kids to get the best candy possible), and when the biggest worry of the day was wondering if you were going to be able to have more than one of the soft, frosted sugar cookies that we all love so much.
Sadly those days are in the past. Not everyone gets a valentine anymore, you still have to go to school, and if you want cookies, you have to go buy them yourself.
I know for a fact that there are people who can’t stand the thought of Valentines Day, and who’s bitterness rises to the surface around this time of year, but why let one single day control your attitude? Maybe you’re tired of giving out so much love and never receiving any in return. Please, quit acting like you are somehow lacking because you don’t have a valentine. Quit trying to fix yourself as if you are broken. I assure you that you are not lacking and you are not broken. You are complete, you are more than enough, you are beautiful, and you are loved.
[This part is to the guys: Start helping give the women around you the ability to feel beautiful and feel loved, no matter how dressed up or dressed down. Notice what you admire about them, and tell them. It doesn't have to be creepy, and it doesn't have to be forward, just respect her and show her that she is of value... because it's likely that she simply doesn't feel that way.]
This day seems to make people blind to the fact that there are 364 other days in the year. That is 364 other days that you are still loved and still valued. I imagine that it is a lot easier said than done when there are others that night, out living it up with their ‘instagram-perfect’ boyfriend and you are at home and on the third season of a Netflix series (as if that is somehow out of the ordinary), but do not lose heart.
There is nothing wrong with dreaming of the day when Ben Higgins hands you a rose, but when you allow yourself to be consumed with the dream, you start to become blind to the people around you who already love you for exactly who you are. Most importantly, you become blind to The One who loves you unconditionally.
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10
Please stop looking for love in all of the wrong places and find love in the presence of the One True King. You are a daughter of The King, so why settle for thinking less of yourself when you are truly a princess. You don’t need to have your beauty validated by the one that you desire, because honestly even when he isn’t looking at you, you are still beautiful! Love is all around you. It is in the laughter with friends, in the prayers late at night, and in the process of learning to truly love yourself. Yes, Valentine's Day is traditionally for couples, but it is still not about only receiving love, but instead, showing love in its purest form. What an opportunity to reflect on the great love shown to you and to pour out your love on those you cherish so much.
