3 People to Love on Valentine’s Day

Who are you going to love on Valentine’s Day? Try these three people. 

3 people to love Valentines

1. Love Someone From Your Past

Valentine’s Day forever changed for me 10 years ago. On February 14, 2010, my daddy died.

He had a quick bout of cancer. It was too brutal to fight. He refused treatment. And on a rare snowy, Sunday Alabama morning, his spirit and his body went separate ways.

I still miss him. 

On this Valentine’s Day, I’ll be remembering back to that day. But I’ll also be remembering the days and years before them, when we had him here at maximum capacity. He was such a force.

My husband Jeff kept a pair of Daddy’s old reading glasses. He keeps them in his workshop in our basement. When he puts them on, he remembers his father-in-law.

daddy's glasses-2

And when I see Jeff wearing Daddy’s glasses, I know I’m being watched through eyes of love. Both my husband’s eyes and my father’s eyes.

WHO IN YOUR PAST WILL YOU LOVE ON VALENTINE’S DAY?

If it’s someone still here, let them know. If they’ve already moved on, remind yourself that you loved. You were loved. This is worth savoring.

2. Love Someone in Your Present

On this Valentine’s Day, Lord willing, I’ll be with the love of my life. Jeff is a rock. Secure. Stable. Priceless.

If we have our way, we’ll go nowhere that night. We won’t exchange cards (we made a pact years ago: no cards or gifts on Valentine’s Day, yippee!).

But together we’ll be.

Maybe after dinner we’ll sit in the living room together in the ratty red love seat and cuddle under our favorite old brown blanket and watch an episode of This Is Us and he’ll hand me a tissue when I cry because I’ve yet to get through an episode without tears.

And we’ll both amble around the house until bedtime. Then one of us will call it a night and the other will get ready too. Together we’ll leave the day behind and crawl under covers at the same time because that’s how we do it every night. And we’ll both feel like the most blessed people alive to still have the other one beside us.

WHO IN YOUR PRESENT WILL YOU LOVE ON VALENTINE’S DAY?

It doesn’t have to be a romantic partner. Maybe it’s a friend or a coworker or a sibling.

Whoever you see, can you speak love into their life? Can you give it away with abandon?

Bob Goff says,

“Give away love like you’re made of it. Let it fill you up like candy in a pinata, so when you take a hit, it’s what will pour out you.”

I know you can. We all can. Let’s agree to.

Give love like pinata_Bob Goff

3. Love Someone in Your Future

This Valentine’s Day I’ll start a new adventure here on my blog. Instead of wandering online to link up with Maree Dee at Grace & Truth for the Christian weekly link-up there, like I do every Friday morning, I’ll stay put and do it right here.

Maree asked me to co-host with her, LaurenHeather and Valerie. So each Friday I’ll invite community to gather with us here to meet awhile, linger a bit, and mix our lives together. I’ll share mine. You share yours.

It seems such a lovely thing to do. Mix grace and truth and Jesus and people. Good things will bubble up. I’m sure of it.

If you’re a Christian blogger, drop in for a visit. Leave us a link to an encouraging word you’ve written. Visit with old friends.

And make a new friend.

WHO IN YOUR FUTURE WILL YOU LOVE ON VALENTINE’S DAY?

Someone in the future is waiting for us. We don’t know yet who it will be.

But guaranteed, there are always new people ahead of us. They don’t know we’re waiting for them. We don’t know it either. 

But Jesus knows. And Jesus must love it.

Does Jesus love Valentine’s Day? He knows it’s a fun day for many. But also a hard, vicious, grief-filled day for others. 

Yet if he sees us loving someone from our past, someone in our present, and someone in our future, I say yes. Jesus loves that part of Valentine’s Day anyway.

Because he is love, we can be, too.


Share your thoughts in the comments.

Who are you going to love on Valentine’s Day? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

If you’re around Friday, drop in a link here. Share a blog post about how you’re working out this Christian life thing. Jesus will meet us here, too. The link-up stays live for a week.

14 thoughts on “3 People to Love on Valentine’s Day

  1. bill (cycleguy)

    I have no problem with the present Lisa. I am surrounded by people I love more than my own breath. The past is filled with the same-mom, grandparents, my in-laws, friends. The future? Hmmmm I’ll have to think about that one. 🙂

  2. Barbara Harper

    I knew about your father’s passing–I think I remember reading about it at the time. But I must have forgotten that it happened on Valentine’s Day. That must have made the next several Valentine’s days hard. My mom passed away a couple of weeks before Christmas, and that brought pangs the next few Decembers. The memories are sweet now, though we still wish she was here.

    We are homebodies on Valentine’s Day, too (well, most of the time, actually.) We do exchange cards and I make a special dinner and heart-shaped cupcakes. We’ve always made it about the whole family rather than leaving the kids behind while we went out. Your evening routine sounds so homey. We’re pretty similar except one or sometimes both of us falls asleep in the living room before waking up and going to bed. 🙂

  3. BettieG

    Thank you, Lisa, for these great thoughts: to love someone in your past, present, and future on this Valentine’s Day. And I am so glad that you will be part of the Grace & Truth Link-up! I will try to remember come back here–a future way of loving! Blessings and love to you.

  4. Laurie

    Loved this post, Lisa. I will be with the love of my life on Valentine’s Day. We will be hosting a dinner with one of my friends who is alone. When I invited her she asked if we wouldn’t rather do “something romantic”. Pffft! We have been married for 41+ years. It will be fun to broaden our circle of love that evening.

    Exciting blog news. Congratulations! See you here on Friday.

  5. Patsy Burnette

    Great post, Lisa, and so appropriate for this week! Thank you for sharing!

    Pinned & tweeted. So excited that you will be hosting the Grace & Truth Link-up! 🙂

    Thanks for linking up at InstaEncouragements!

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Even though we miss our loved ones who are gone, it is a blessing to still have so many people here that we can love and who love us. Sounds like you are generously surrounded, Tiffany! I am too and I’m so grateful.

  6. Anne

    Well be with family on Valentines Day as we are going to a birthday party. My Nan passed away on Valentines Day over 20 years ago. She died peacefully of old age with all her family around her.

    1. LisaNotes Post author

      Thank you, Kim. It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since I’ve last seen my dad. But every day is one day closer to a reunion with him and others that have already passed on. Happy Valentine’s Day to you.

  7. Louise (Little Hearts, Big Love)

    Valentine’s Day can be such a tough day and I’m sure it must be a difficult day for you remembering your dad. I love that your husband uses your dad’s reading glasses – what a lovely way to remember him and to still have part of him with you both. I like your way of spending Valentine’s Day, snuggling up on the sofa and just enjoying being together sounds perfect to me. My husband was on the other side of the world this year but we get each other a card and spoke to each other on the phone. #WotW

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *