Hey.
It’s Valentine’s Day.
You happy? Mad? Sad?
How does V day make you feel?
Maybe you love it, like me.
Or maybe this Valentine’s Day is hard for you.
Maybe you leaned over and kissed the one you love this morning. Or maybe you can’t stand looking at that body next to yours.
Maybe you’re berating yourself for forgetting to make a dinner reservation tonight. Or maybe you’re berating God for forgetting to provide someone to make a dinner reservation with.
The truth is that today is either really hard, really great, or somewhere in between. I know… I’m a genius. Still…
For me, Valentine’s Day is sort of like Thanksgiving.
I love everything about it.
Why, you ask?
Well, because it’s a day in which I stop for a moment and recognize the important things.
On this day, I stop and remember that were it up to me, I might have been married, twice, to the wrong guy. But God knew me better than I knew myself. He had a purpose for me that He planned before I was born. And somehow, despite my best attempts, this awesome God made a way for me to feel the pain of singleness and then use it to write a book about thriving in singleness (check it out here), and to host a daily radio show for singles (listen here), and to have a heart for singles like me.
Trust me.
I could have never thought this thing up.
But every year on Valentine’s Day, I stop and think about love. Not the love of a man that still hasn’t show up yet, but the even deeper love of the Father.
If you don’t know Jesus, this might sound creepy. I get it.
But if you do know Him, then it makes perfect sense to you and odds are you totally agree.
Some days – like today – being single isn’t very easy.
Yet some days – like today – being single is just perfect.
But whether you’re single or married, and no matter what your view on Valentine’s Day is, let me sum it up like this:
If you’re married today, go ahead and celebrate the gift of love God has given you. Be grateful that God knew exactly who you needed in your life (yeah, I mean that guy you’re married to!).
And if you’re single, go ahead and celebrate the gift of love God has given you. Be grateful that God knew exactly what you needed in your life right now.
And if you’re still waiting for a man/woman to show up and sweep you off your feet or if you’re still waiting for your husband/wife to make that dinner reservation for tonight, be encouraged on this Valentine’s Day with my two favorite verses on waiting from Psalm 27:13-14:
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”
Happy ValenThrive’s Day everyone!
And *hugs* to all of you reading (See? Even I get sappy on V day).
And because I love singles a little bit more than I love marrieds, I put together this awesome ValenThrive’s resource for you – don’t be shy: share it with your friends and on social media!
I love your blogs – also your new book Resolved – I’m neither single or a doctor – your book speaks to all! I’m enjoying following you on Instagram and praying for what God has for you. I’m 60 with a preacher for a husband, 2 married kids with 5 grandkids, and one 18 year old son that God knew we needed to get us through the rest of our lives. Happy Tuesday ❤️ Allyson
Beautiful blog. Thank you!
Great post Lina! Really ministered to me and encouraged me!
Yeah, as a single V day is a bit scary, it feels like I am a bit out of place in the culture today. But praise God, not out of place in His plan. Enjoying His gift knowing that I’m His Valentine every day 😉
Happy Valentine’s Day. Have a great day. The love of God is all we need then we can reflect it.
Happy LOVE day to YOU!! You are gifted at teaching us to LOVE Jesus well. You spend your time and talents LOVING your patients in the ER, your conference followers and your refugees. And you for sure LOVE your family!! Happy Valentines day to you, our dear and LOVELY Bible teacher!! (Ok, it’s not Hallmark, but I tried!)
Love your Valentine’s Day message and thoughts <3 Shared on FB. Happy Valentine's Day <3
Oh Happy Day ~ Happy Hearts Day ~ Happy Valentines Day to you Lina, I agree with ya dear sweet sista wholeheartedly, thanks always for sharing from your heart girl. Grace and Peace B2U and URLOVED2
2 Corinthians 13:7 …. [God] LOVE never gives up, never looses Faith and is always Hopeful and Endures through ever circumstance. GOD IS this kind of REAL LOVE !! Oh how HE LOVES us…..love that song.
And LOVE DAY is everyday cause God Loves us everyday!! Jesus is the true lover of our soul. Amen.
I soooo enjoyed your reading your blog today (the day after Valentine’s Day)… It hit home and though I am single, I am content where God has me today! I am not always this way, but it’s better than being married to the wrong person. Single/married all good as long as Jesus is the head of our lives! The latter is my take on Valentine’s Day or any day of the week for that matter! Thanks Lina for understanding us single women :)! and for God putting you here to encourage us every step of the way!
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