Lessons on Love From a Valentine’s Box

February . . . the month of love. We know this because the Hallmark channel tells us so. I mean, we have just detoxed all the Christmas movies from our souls and then “Wham!” The Hallmark company and their compatriots hit us with cards and candies everywhere we turn. Just in case you forgot, this month is about love, As a kid, I remember choosing the theme of my Valentine’s Day cards for school. Did I want a sports theme, a movie theme (Star Wars), a TV theme (Dukes of Hazzard), or some generic theme? I had to ensure the box of cards I bought had enough for everyone in the class—even for those classmates who did not deserve a note of friendship appreciation from me. They deserved a note, but not appreciation. Anyway, this is about love. . .

Let’s be honest, some people in my class were easier to love than others. I don’t know if that was true in your class, but it was in mine. There was this one kid . . . Okay, this is about love.

Well, it has been a few years since elementary school and I wish love was easier today, but some days it is more challenging. I do not know why. It could be because when people hurt us when we get older, the knives go deeper. Maybe it is because people know more about us because of our social media profiles. Perhaps it is because people can be mean - no matter our age.

There are several types of love. We understand this, I think. We know our love for broccoli differs from our love for ice cream—duh! Our love of money differs from our love for our parents. However, love can be confusing.

There is a Bible passage that gives us a wonderful picture of what love should look like. It says, “Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always ‘me first,’ doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end” (The Message, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Love is challenging. I want to love better. I want to love more. I want to love without bias. I want to love everyone - even those that I do not want to love.

Like me, maybe you still have some people in your life that are easier to love than others. Choose to love them anyway. Or, maybe, like me, you are more challenging to love than others for some. Hopefully, they choose to love us anyway.

Maybe as adults, we should buy a few extra boxes of Valentine’s Day cards and hand them to everyone in our lives —even those we struggle to love. Hopefully, your Valentine’s box will overflow with cards this year—maybe even with some surprise cards.