.redefine.

With Valentines Day 2010, I would like to redefine the significance and change the cynical feelings I have towards this holiday. Honestly, it started off with a struggle. I found out that my "HS sweetheart" got engaged to a girl he's been dating 4 months...I know I am over him and that whole situation, but it still just feels SO weird. Just knowing that my first boyfriend, my first kiss, the only person I ever have seriously dated is getting married. It's hard to explain...I suppose I only feel this way because there was never any closure on the way things went down. It's just a mixture of shock/surprise/upset/weird....

Regardless, upon finding out this knowledge yesterday morning, I was able to turn to the EXACT same four people that I turned to four years ago when he dumped me, which leads me to my new definition of Valentine's Day. Being able to rely on the same handful of friends four years later--WHAT A BLESSING! They knew how torn down I was four years ago, and they were such encouraging to me yesterday, reminding me that the Lord has something so much better for me!
I know that Hallmark emphasizes Valentine's Day as a boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife thing, but why not change this idea as a "Thank you for being a great friend and I really appreciate our friendship" day. I suppose since I haven't ever really had a true Valentine's Day "date", I can only appreciate this day as a day of thankfulness for true friends. On that note, I have to throw in Eccclesiastes 4:9-10: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

How cool is it that God has created us to be relational beings, not ONLY in the realm of dating/marriage? I feel that in especially in the last two years (and even more since camp) I have learned to thrive on intentional friendships with all sorts of people. Yesterday I spent Valentine's evening with the "single people" from our group of church friends. Let me tell you...what a blessing to be single! What a great group of single guys and girls waiting patiently on the Lord to put the "right one" in their life. Honestly, being in that group made me thankful to be single. How empowering it is to be with other single people who are all waiting patiently for a great guy/girl and NOT settling for anything less! Very encouraging to say the least :) So I suppose that the conclusion of Valentine's Day 2010 is that regardless of my relationship status, I think I will now use Valentines Day as an excuse to tell those around me, how much they truly mean to me; I know I wouldn't be the same without their support! <3