This has been a long week. I’m not gonna lie…we’ve had very long, hectic days at work, and I’ve been gone from my home and my husband for thirteen to fourteen hours every day so far. I took the photos above just after I left the office, and it felt like God’s gift for making it through another day. When my alarm went off this morning, the VERY LAST THING I wanted to do was actually get up and prepare for the day ahead.

How incredibly blessed I am to have this wonderful soul at my side, getting up with me (even though he’d been up for work calls during the night) and as I got ready, making my coffees (yes, two) for the road (I drive over an hour to get to work), cutting up an apple for me to have as a snack at my desk in between patients, all the while offering me words of kindness and encouragement. Each day he makes it possible for me to do what feels impossible, and I know that is a direct result of God’s hand in my life.

There are a wide array of feelings out there in regard to Valentine’s Day. In my opinion, it’s a special holiday simply because it is a day all about love. I don’t see it as a day set aside only for couples in love. I see it as a day to honor love, all kinds of love. I am 48 years old, and I still get Valentine’s gifts from my daddy. Being single on a day like today shouldn’t feel like an insult, and it breaks my heart when people I care about who happen to be living the single life feel pain on a day like today. I implore them to stop and consider all of the love in their lives. Everyone is special to the people closest to them in their lives, and today is a day to celebrate that blessing!

“And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 AMP

Whoever you are and wherever you are, whether you are married, dating, single, or any variation of those things, PLEASE take a moment and comprehend that you are loved! Maybe not in the way you envision or desire right now, but that shouldn’t be relevant. Choose to celebrate ALL of the love in your life today, and make a conscious choice to not focus on the kind of love you may feel you are lacking. Have faith that God is with you, and with Him you truly have the only love that really matters, which means He is providing you with exactly what you need in your life in this time and in this place. He needs you to see and appreciate the love He is already providing you instead of bemoaning the love you want Him to provide you. He needs your trust that He will bring you the right love at the right time, and that is in HIS time, not in ours.

God brought me the love of my life long after I’d stopped believing it was possible. It was after I really connected with the love of God, choosing to focus my mind and energy on my relationship with Him, letting go of my focus on myself and what I thought I should or shouldn’t have. I waited all my life for a sister, and when I least expected it, He gave me one. In spite of our current rift, that is a love that I continue to treasure and honor, and am working hard to find my faith that the rift will be healed in God’s time, not mine. By the same token, God put the knowledge in my heart that He had a special man coming my way, and I was at peace in that knowledge. I wasn’t in a hurry and I wasn’t impatient. I had absolute childlike trust that God would bring us together when it was right, and like a massive thunderbolt, He did just that. I knew the day I met him, I’d met the man God intended for me to marry. I can honestly say I loved him from the very moment he shook my hand and I saw his dimples as he smiled at me.

I don’t know what God has planned for your life, but I DO know that HE knows, and for all of us, that needs to be enough. That is what He asks of us, isn’t it? To let go of our own expectations and simply trust Him and His plan. He will lead us where we need to go, just as He will cross our paths with the people He knows we need when we need them. But He can only do that if we let Him. He can only do that if we are willing to relinquish control and focus on taking only the steps He’s placed right in front of us. If we waste time wishing for the steps He hasn’t put in front of us yet, we’re most likely going to trip on the one we’re actually supposed to be taking.

Please choose to see Valentine’s Day as a celebration of ALL love, not just romantic love. Make the choice to give your love freely to those around you, celebrate your friendships, your families, your critters, and most of all, the Father in Heaven who IS love!!!