Every year St. Valentine’s Day changes for me. At the beggining of my life it was the “Day of Love and Friendship”(literal translation from Spanish). That’s how it is advertised, promoted and celebrated. Once I moved to Australia it is only the one name: “Valentine’s Day”.
It is a beautiful celebration of Love, any kind of Love: husbands and wifes, children, family, neighbouring, etc. But the expectations set when you are younger and single vs the expectations set when you are married and with children are completely different.
Today I stand in the middle of the kitchen sink thinking about how blessed I am of having my family. Yes, I am sleep deprived, my back is sore, it’s raining, laundry is behind, toys are everywhere and my back it’s not happy about stretching it a bit more to pick up the dozens of toys, and I can go on this way specifying all my struggles… This day is no different than any other day, the only difference is the fact that I am actually seeing more love hearts everywhere on Social Media and, specially, my little girls were excited this morning drawing hundreds of love-hearts in every paper they could find.
Then, my daughter interrupted the very tedious and stressful task of getting their lunch bag ready -I know, I know, I should have done it last night-. She interrupted to show me, as every morning, her drawing. Today was full of love hearts. She told me to open it up and inside were the first words she has learnt to write all by herself: “I love you mum”. No mistakes! All letters were correctly positioned for the first time. I was so proud of her and my joy was very honest when I told her I loved her too.
She is my Valentines. My children are my Valentines. They are the fruit of the love of my other Valentines: my husband. Whom I united in Matrimony in front of a Ceremony at Church and blessed by my first love: God.
I am blessed.
I am blessed because there is ONE love that has being with me from the beggining of times and promised me He’ll stay with me until the end of times: the love of God.
By having children myself I cannot imagine the sacrifice of what our Lord God did for us and for our Salvation.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” John 3, 16.
THAT is true Love. God sent Jesus Christ to save us. His Son.
But there is more in this story. We can love, but receiving that love back is another issue. Jesus, the Son, asked God to take this Cup away from Him: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” Luke 22, 42.
So here we have another Love, the Love of the Son to the Father, but not only Love but Trust, because by trusting God, by surrending to His Will, His will was perfectioned and completed thanks to the Cross… because after the Cross, the Victory came: the Resurrection! And with it OUR SALVATION.
“Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”” John 11, 24-26
Do WE believe in this?
Do WE believe in His True Love?
God IS Love.
Believe it.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Liza, a Maronite Mum
Maronite Mum 