Happy Valentine’s Day!
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;
I know… cheesy right? Valentine’s Day… Love is!
Well… so be it… cheese is good!
In 52 days I will be celebrating our 45th anniversary with my Sweet Boy and our 7 (3 plus the some of the one’s we have stolen from other mothers) kids.
This morning he and I are celebrating the love that has been GROWN by GOD when He witnessed and honored our desire to become one, in 1973 – where two or more are gathered in His name… Matthew 18:20! This morning my Sweet Man blessed my socks off with a feast of the sweet, sweet fruit of the journey we – the two of us (plus One – there He is in our midst) are walking/sometimes running/always dancing, with the Holy Spirit mapping it out for us.
Isaiah 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. (It seems the Holy Spirit likes CHEESE too!)
Evidently he walked Don to the store so that as I came out to get my coffee I would find the BEST CARD EVER and a “FUN SIZE” of THE BEST CANDY EVER MADE.
Love IS…
In my “more immature days”, I would’ve been more on the LOVE ISN”T/DOESN”T (jealousy, bragging, arrogance, unbecoming actions, seeking my own greedy wishes, provoked to anger cause I didn’t get what I wanted, holding a grudge until whenever, and of course rejoicing in my unRIGHTeous to MY WAY) side of Valentine greetings, but today God whispered His Way (Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts…) and my heart received the truth.
Truth be told, BOTH Don and I have shared MANY immature days along our road. Being like Adam and Eve we have both greedily eyed the forbidden fruit and “just KNEW” it was good for food, a delight to the eyes, desirable to make one wise (Genesis 3:4). Just as Eve did, I tempted the hubby, and he poked me with the stick attached to it! But WE BOTH ate of it…
Forty Five years… what a miracle! Left to our own devices we would have been KICKED OUT of the land of marriage oneness. But God… had other plans!
Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
He took our word vow of desire (you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me) and then He listened to us.
So began God’s training plan… for a time such as this.
Love God’s Way!
Love is patient! Years and years of patience. Don began with way more patience than I had/have. All he requires is a subtle eye roll (yes, I do catch him rolling his eyes sometimes) to get through the impossible expectations. I on the other hand sometimes require a hissy fit(thankfully they are fewer and farther between these days).
Love is kind! I held myself (and others) to a standard of perfection. It took 44 (going on 45) years for Don to convince me he sees me as “amazing” and “fun sized” (my new favorite description of my not so perfect size) – “perfect” for our “unpredictable world”.
And to think…Years ago I COULD NOT WOULD NOT pray for God to make me the wife Don wanted… so I prayed for God to make me the wife He wanted me to be. Turns out God is making us (game still on!) perfect for each other! You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart… go figure!
Love rejoices with the truth! Both of us have met the God who IS LOVE (He so loved us – He gave His son) and believed. We know the truth and the truth has set us free…
Love bears all things! Like labor and delivery, given a little (sometimes a lot) time and we hardly remember the weeds and thorns…
Love believes all things! The BEST is yet to come…
Love hopes all things! We are so very blessed and we HOPE for many more years of the blessings… the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
Love endures all things! Together… Is it just me or do agree it’s God’s grace that we are rarely/if ever overcome with the weight of the world, at the same time?
I didn’t get my Love a card or gift today, amazingly I am the one in this twosome that often forgets to add the sugar and spice. Graciously, Don isn’t one who keeps a spreadsheet of who gave what and how many times. My Wonderful Valentine is a giver through and through… always sweet even when his gift resembles frogs, or snails, or puppy dog tails (**FYI** according to Wikipedia – 19th century nursery rhyme – maybe by Robert Southey). He loves giving… TO ME (eat your heart out girls).
I am blessed this day and everyday God has made for me (my number is written in the Book of Life)! If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31)
I am REALLY NOT bragging though I have a lot to brag about if I were… God has given me Himself for all the days of my life for He will never leave nor forsake me.
He has also given me… the Love of my life… the Head of my household… the One who stands between me and my enemies… maybe not always the Firecracker but definitely the Sparkle of my life.
OMG… Don IS my bling!… and we all know I LOVE BLING!!
But NEVER bragging… ALL of this has been to say…
Love never fails! Because the God who IS Love NEVER FAILS…
Zephaniah 3:17 Adonai your God is in your midst— a mighty Savior! He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing. (from the Tree of Life Version of the Bible)
Happy Valentines Day…
**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.