When Your Only Valentine is Jesus...

Here is an obvious statement... Valentine's Day is this week. Which for many, means a time of candy hearts and eating your feelings. Personally I've never been a big fan of the holiday. My philosophy is this: I can't even remember to feed or bathe myself, so it's probably for the best that I don't have to celebrate this one.

This is my second Valentine's Day since being in seminary-- a place where young love abounds and sometimes it seems like people go out for coffee once, then decide to get married. Living in the singles apartments tends to make it even more of a dark mark on the calendar for a lot of people around here. In this world people often look at us (alright, maybe just me) like something must be really wrong since we're single. There seems to be a constant flow of justification and pity comments. Around Valentine's Day though, the statements get a little more ridiculous. Here are two of my favorites:


1. "My valentine died on the cross for my sins..."
Let's think about this... I don't think Jesus is really your valentine. He doesn't show up at your door with chocolates and a balloon or sing you cheesy love songs. I feel like if you're saying that, although well intentioned, you may be more single (and probably lonely) than the rest of us.

2. "Jesus thinks you're beautiful..."
I could be wrong, but I feel like the second half of this sentence is "....and He's the only one." Surprisingly enough, this doesn't esteem us girls as much as you may think.


All this to say... we know we're single. But even for those of us that don't mind it, we don't need the constant reminder. It's really isn't that helpful. Call it Valentine's Day or call it Singles Awareness Day but it's definitely an awkward day for many people. I've just come to embrace that fact.