Happy Valentine's Day!
From an email sent to my mom's group:
So, I'll be totally honest... in the past I have despised Valentine's Day. Strange, considering Andrew and I have been together for 8 1/2 years. It is only this year that I have developed an appreciation for this "Hallmark holiday". And as I was walking through Marsh on my way to the back (yes all the important stuff is all the way in the back) I passed a very small box of Valentine chocolates. The perfect size for my 3 1/2 year old son. And as I was purchasing these chocolates I began to anticipate the absolute thrill my $1.50 purchase would bring. And sure enough just as promised he was over-the-moon excited. I must have been hugged, kissed and thanked a dozen times before bed that night!
This little exchange was on my mind this morning as I came to the Lord. And as I opened my Bible I was blown away once again at the LOVE I find there. A love centuries in the making... intentional and personal. Everything I see... touch; taste; smell... was for me! My whole world; my children; my husband; all of my blessings... they are all a beautiful orchestra "playing" God's love for me! And yet so many times, so many times, I ignore or miss this love song. I see my family as a hindrance to my potential. Or my husband as unappreciative and thoughtless (which he is neither!). And I just plain miss it...
So this Valentine's Day is different. My scriptures this morning tell me just how far God's love would go. Ephesians 2:1-10 was my reading and the verses that struck me; humbled me-were these:
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is
by grace you have been saved"
The Message says it like this: "Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ." So, I refuse to "miss it" another day! Oh, I'm sure there will be days when I complain about my kids or husband; the weather or how slow people drive... but for today I will see it. I will see it in the delight on my little boy's face over my $1.50 purchase and in the unexplainable love my husband has for me, even when I am so unlovable. But mostly I will see it in God's overwhelming love, mercy and grace. A love so perfect and profound it has changed my life...
So Happy Valentine's Day, ladies! May you know just how incredibly loved you are today. Not only by those around you, myself included, but also by our God. Who by his immense mercy and "incredible love" embraced us and "made us alive in Christ"!
So, I'll be totally honest... in the past I have despised Valentine's Day. Strange, considering Andrew and I have been together for 8 1/2 years. It is only this year that I have developed an appreciation for this "Hallmark holiday". And as I was walking through Marsh on my way to the back (yes all the important stuff is all the way in the back) I passed a very small box of Valentine chocolates. The perfect size for my 3 1/2 year old son. And as I was purchasing these chocolates I began to anticipate the absolute thrill my $1.50 purchase would bring. And sure enough just as promised he was over-the-moon excited. I must have been hugged, kissed and thanked a dozen times before bed that night!
This little exchange was on my mind this morning as I came to the Lord. And as I opened my Bible I was blown away once again at the LOVE I find there. A love centuries in the making... intentional and personal. Everything I see... touch; taste; smell... was for me! My whole world; my children; my husband; all of my blessings... they are all a beautiful orchestra "playing" God's love for me! And yet so many times, so many times, I ignore or miss this love song. I see my family as a hindrance to my potential. Or my husband as unappreciative and thoughtless (which he is neither!). And I just plain miss it...
So this Valentine's Day is different. My scriptures this morning tell me just how far God's love would go. Ephesians 2:1-10 was my reading and the verses that struck me; humbled me-were these:
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is
by grace you have been saved"
The Message says it like this: "Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ." So, I refuse to "miss it" another day! Oh, I'm sure there will be days when I complain about my kids or husband; the weather or how slow people drive... but for today I will see it. I will see it in the delight on my little boy's face over my $1.50 purchase and in the unexplainable love my husband has for me, even when I am so unlovable. But mostly I will see it in God's overwhelming love, mercy and grace. A love so perfect and profound it has changed my life...
So Happy Valentine's Day, ladies! May you know just how incredibly loved you are today. Not only by those around you, myself included, but also by our God. Who by his immense mercy and "incredible love" embraced us and "made us alive in Christ"!
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