Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! I hope that you get the opportunity to share this day with your loved ones, whether through a simple phone call or a nice dinner together. As much as I've expressed my distaste for this holiday, I do want to celebrate it while it's here. My problem is simple: we shouldn't reserve one day of the year to tell someone that we love them. For that matter, with Valentine's Day as a day to celebrate love, we shouldn't limit it to just our significant other: there are certainly others in our life who we love. That said, today is a day worth celebrating. Humans are faulty, and with everything else we try to do, it's hard to take a step back and remember those we love everyday. Thus, God gives us days like today, where we can take a moment to reflect and celebrate.
Thus, given my seemingly more gentle mood today, this entry won't be quite the rant you may have expected. However, I do want to get the facts and the points across, so here we go.
Despite the concerns with finances that nearly everyone seems to experience these days, Valentine's Day spending seems like a necessity in our culture. The National Retail Federation predicts that the average person will shell out $126.04 for Valentine's Day, a more than 8.5% increase from last year's average amount. Men will spend the higher average at $168.74, whereas women will spend roughly $85.76 on average. There are other surveys out as well that curb some of those lofty numbers, such as PriceGrabber's survey, suggesting that most people responded they would spend between $25 and $50 this year.
The first few numbers are a bit outrageous, but I'm not going to bicker about them. Life can be expensive and let's face it: in today's culture, when we want to do something for someone we love, spending money is the easiest and most efficient way to do it. As long as we remember that spending money is not a necessity for showing someone that we love them, America runs and gets a boost from days like today, so go ahead and spend wisely on that special someone.
However, the point here is simple: never forget about what love is. Love is patient, love is kind, and everything else packed into that beautiful set of verses. I do wanna point out one verse specifically, though.
1 Corinthians 13:7 says "[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." In the scope of one day, you can show someone you love them with dinner, flowers, or whatever else it may be, but love is more about the other 364 days of the year. You don't need to shower someone with gifts and attention for one day out of the year to prove you love them. You just need to be there for every other day. Always protect and trust; always hope and persevere. Today isn't our one day of the year to show love; it's the one day we get off to remind ourselves to (try to) do it for the other 364 days.
Lastly, it's always hard for me to hear the complaints people have on Valentine's Day, usually borne from a combination of bitterness and loneliness. You think nobody out there loves you? Stop it. You're blessed with so much, and so many people who love and care about you. Take today to remember that.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday and remember: let your love be about more than just today!
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