Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. William Shakespeare

Today is Valentine’s Day. Thus, it seems fitting that I would write about love again. After all, today is all about showing love to someone special. All the local stores display endless shelves of candy, sweets, fresh flowers, chocolate dipped strawberries, etc, etc, enticing one to spend a little extra for our sweethearts. My hubby gave me a sweet min rose bush loaded with of tiny red buds . He knows me so well ! It couldn’t be more perfect on this grey, dreary February 14. My brother who works at Kennedy airport in New York as an agricultural inspector says Valentine’s Day, second only to Mother’s Day, becomes a madhouse for all the workers unloading tons of shipped flowers. I wonder if my red roses came from there?

However, Valentine’s Day has little connection to love. It’s origin is murky but the history of February 14th is far removed from pudgy cupids shooting love arrows and flower bedecked Victorian children sending out heart shaped kisses There were possibly two different Valentines connected to the day. Supposedly, both were beheaded for preaching Christianity by the emperor Claudius in the third century on February 14th. The Church incorporated that date into its liturgical calendar and included St. Valentine as a martyr of the faith. It was not until the thirteenth century that love became associated with Valentine when Geoffrey Chaucer did so. Again, much later Shakespeare popularized the idea. (For a more thorough history of t Valentine’s Day, you might enjoy reading the Smithsonian’s website https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gory-origins-valentines-day-180968156/ )

Over hundreds of years, Valentine’s Day has evolved into its present overly hyped and commercialized holiday. But then who doesn’t like sentiment? I am a poet at heart and found many poetic and sappy verses extolling love and lovers. My favorite right now is this one from Dr. Seuss:
You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

There is another verse in the Bible which touches my yearning heart even more than Dan’s lovely gift of flowers. It is not the only Scripture about love for all of the Bible is really about God’s loving heart toward us. John tells us the true reason why we can love one another.
We love because he first loved us. John 4:19

It is not about an ancient tradition, liturgical practices or even great writing. It’s not about one holiday a year. It’s not about sentiment. It is not about things we purchase but about the one who purchased us. It is about the person of Jesus who first loved us into Love itself. What can possibly be more extraordinary than that!