the saddest valentines

Happy Friday!

I know – it is a very chipper greeting for such a solemn title

It is also chilly, dreary and raining here in Virginia Beach –

and expected to rain for the next several days

But I refuse to have my spirits dampened (no pun intended)

 Today we are focusing on the saddest valentines

The saddest valentines – 

Believe it or not, the saddest are not those who are alone or lonely;

It is not those who loved and lost – like so many have experienced recently;

No – the saddest valentines are those who are surrounded by opportunities to love

                And they instead choose hate, menace, discord or bitterness

That my friend is the absolute saddest case – because it is fully avoidable

 

Love is a choice

It is a choice each of us has –  the option of embracing or discarding

I remember watching a program once upon a time, and in it, the lead character noted,

“Every woman has the exact love life she desires”

Understand, I am not silly or sexist enough to apply something like that to just women

I believe that every person has the 'love life' they desire

I am not speaking romantically here – although it could be that as well

I am speaking about love in general and loving life

Life throws challenges at everyone in some form or another

                It does not discriminate –

But the ultimate decision to keep loving, it is our decision to make

There is an account in the Old Testament –

It tells the story of a young widow named Ruth

However, there is a dual story line which occurs

The story also gives insights into the life of this widow’s mother-in-law Naomi

Naomi had travelled far with her husband and two sons

A famine in their city had caused them to flee ‘for a while’ to a foreign city

Once settled, both of Naomi’s sons found wives [one of them being Ruth]

However, over time, Naomi’s husband and both of her sons died

So eventually, Naomi sets out to return to her hometown,

And Ruth followed – although that is not the important part today

The important part is what happens when they reach their destination

The townspeople were ‘stirred’, surprised to see Naomi once again

          It had been over ten years that she was away

And her response is quite possibly one of the saddest I’ve read in the Bible:

“Don’t call me Naomi [which means pleasant], she told them. “Call me Mara [which means bitter], because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me?” Ruth 1:20-21

Having faced tremendous loss, Naomi has decided that she has nothing left

No husband, no sons, no promise, no future, no hope

She has allowed the storms of her life to claim even her identity – renaming herself ‘Bitter’

She is not loving life, frustrated and hurt – even to the point of blaming God

Life throws challenges at everyone in some form or another

We will follow-up with Naomi [and Ruth] in the next couple of days

But today, please remember this –

It is a choice to live in love

It is a choice to bask in the joy of each blessed day – or to live in bitterness

It is a decision to love people – or to willfully use, abuse or abhor those around us

‘I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life…’ Deuteronomy 30:19

We cannot control what life throws our way – not always

But we can control how we will respond to what life throws our way

During this season of love – and at all times – give some thought to your ‘love life’

In many regards, it is what you make it

Have a Blessed Day!

 

‘… whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –  think on these things’

Philippians 4:8