The Week of Love
A morning online search led me to info I never knew. Apparently, Valentine’s Week in India officially began February 7th when couples start celebrating the month of love with romantic gifts, heartwarming surprises, and spending quality time with each other.
“Bring on the love” is what I say! What not have a week of expressions of love? Not a bad idea — seven days dedicated to the celebration of love before Valentine’s Day.
Those seven days of love are Rose Day (February 7th), Propose Day (February 8th), Chocolate Day (February 9th), Teddy Day (February 10th), Promise Day (February 11th), Hug Day (February 12th), and Kiss Day (February 13th). Then of course, the big finale is Valentine’s Day (February 14th). You’re welcome!
I think many of us might have some catching up to do with all those momentous days of love! However, I tend to think this is just another way for retail stores to amp up their sales for more, much more, love tokens.
Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating Valentine’s Day as the day of love celebrated by youngsters at their Valentine’s parties at school and friends who take the opportunity to share their kindness and love with each other with a gift or card, as well as couples embracing the opportunity to express their love for each other in tangible ways.
AND, this year, there is an awesome add-on. Lent begins on the same day. Lent represents our Lord’s great love for us in His 40 days’ journey through to Holy Thursday, March 24th to Easter Sunday.
Often we hear the word “Lent” and we think “lint” — those little fibers that get on our clothes from other fabrics and we use a sticky lint remover tool to get it off. Lent means sort of the same thing — taking the time to “come clean” — to rid ourselves of the funk and junk that has settled in our hearts. It’s remembering our Lord’s indescribable sacrifice of love that causes us to have hearts “swept clean” for our Lord’s place of residence in us.
How perfect that Lent falls on the same day as Valentine’s Day – the day of expressing our love to each other. And even more so, we get to remember the LOVE God had for us in giving us His beloved SON.
We remember the LOVE He demonstrated by coming to this earth, becoming a man (like you and me), living a life of servitude and then was willing to die, be buried, and rise from the grave and lives today to draw us to Himself. Lent is about being fully ATTRACTED to Him WHO is ATTRACTED to us daily.
So, let’s get on with the week of Valentine’s. Yesterday, was February 12th — Hug Day, and today is February 13th and it’s KISS Day! Perhaps we can spread the love of God and our love to others with some big old “I love YOU” kisses and hugs today!
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35