Who can you celebrate this Valentine's Day?
I know not everyone enjoys Valentine’s Day, but for me, Valentine’s Day is a reminder to celebrate someone I love. I think we all have someone to celebrate.
How can we celebrate someone we love? We can ask God who we can honor or bless.
We can celebrate others by first praying for them. Then we can reach out. It can be as easy as a text or a call. A kind text telling someone what they mean to you can be an amazing blessing. When I do this, I like to start those texts with, “I said a prayer for you today.” Then I simply tell that person what they mean to me.
We can be creative! Let’s celebrate someone during this season of love.
My heart hurts for those who are isolated or feel alone. Those are the ones who may be very thankful for your kindness during this season. Perhaps it could be a call, card, text, special “gift” drop-off, an invitation to hang out, or whatever you choose. We can pray about who we can celebrate and how we can celebrate them.
My family’s celebrations have changed over the years. I’d like to share some of them with you.
My husband and I had small celebrations for the first few years of our marriage. After we had started our family, Tom's dad passed away. The following Valentine’s Day we thought about both of our moms being single. That's when I decided we would invite the moms over for Valentine's dinner.
This became such a special occasion for our children and their grandmas. Our two boys would “date” their Gram or Nana and our daughter would “date” her dad. That night, I happily served all of them a special meal.
The children would meet their date at the front door and walk them to their seats. They were so excited to show the beautiful table they had set, which included a special gift that they created for each one. They loved laughing and enjoying their special time together. This became a heartwarming yearly tradition.
That beautiful yet simple tradition sadly changed over the years. Unfortunately my mom passed away many years ago, and since then Tom and I continued to enjoy celebrating his mom every year thereafter. I have fond memories of our celebration last year talking with his mom, while I cooked dinner, never anticipating that she would pass away later that year. We never know how life will change, but we truly thank God for all of the time we had with her.
Looking forward to Valentine’s Day this year felt so different without Mom here.
BUT GOD …
With the end of one season – a new one begins. We are beginning a new way of celebrating this year.
Tom and I are now grandparents … we call ourselves PaNana = Pap & Nana.
This is the first Valentine's Day that we get to celebrate our new little ones at PaNana's house!
They are both under one year old ... so it's a celebration we will be growing into. I'm looking forward to creating new memories.
Now we are the grandparents celebrating our grandkids.
Even though our Valentine's Day celebrations have changed over the decades, and we have experienced loss, it's such a blessing to focus on the good that we do have in each season.
Is there someone in your life to whom you’d like to express your gratitude, love, or appreciation?
I would be thrilled to learn about how you're honoring someone in your life. Please reply and share any plans you have in store.
My dear friend, today I want to celebrate YOU! You are in my thoughts and prayers! I am blessed to be able to journey with you.
May you feel the love of the Lord and His presence in this season!
Dawn
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