Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching. In Romania, I am not for sure how much it is really celebrated but in other parts of the world it is a BIG day to show someone close to you how much you love them with flowers and gifts. There are many women who may not like this holiday because if they are not dating or married, then it makes them feel alone or that something is wrong with them.

This has not been much of a holiday for me and my husband and I don’t really do anything extra special for the day. We will write a nice card to one another and that’s usually it. But with this holiday approaching it got me thinking about when I was a little girl.

I was in elementary school and there were many times that my school friends and I would pick flowers from the fields and we would start to pick the petals off one by one. It was kind of a game, each time you picked a petal you would say, “He loves me or he loves me not.” Pick a petal, he loves me. Pick a petal, he loves me not. All the way until the last petal. If you were left with “he loves me” you felt a little excited and loved. But if you were left with “he loves me not” I remember feeling sad. It is amazing to think that such a simple, meaningless game with school friends could have such a strong impression and impact on how you view yourself.

There are many girls or women that believe that they are not ________ (fill in the blank). They have bought into the lies that the world tells us.

You don’t have a boyfriend or husband for Valentine’s Day, there must be something wrong with you.
LIE.

You are too big.
LIE.

You are too skinny.
LIE.

You are not beautiful.
LIE.

You made too many mistakes for someone to love and forgive you.
LIE.

You are not enough.
LIE.

You are not smart.
LIE.

You don’t have enough money.
LIE.

Plain and simple, they are all lies. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever believed a lie?

Many of us can be living our lives and not realize that we are living according to lies that others have told us about ourselves and life in general. We don’t know it’s a lie until someone shares the truth.

Many times, we feel worthless because of people that try to tell us we are worth nothing or can’t do anything. Other times, we feel worthless because we mess up and then let our thoughts consume us, convincing us we aren’t of much value. But we have an identity that cannot be stolen. Many things can be taken from us or can be lost, but our identity is not one of them. We have been made in the image of God, and that can never change!

We were made to show His love, patience, compassion, beauty, joy, passion, strength, justice, and so much more! Satan is jealous of that identity and has been trying to cause us to forget it from the day we were born, but he can never strip that identity away from us. Because you are made in the image of God, you have more worth than anything in this world; you are priceless!

Today, make the choice to believe what God says about you! He loves you just as you are – mistakes, shame, and all. He has always loved you and always will. Jesus died on the cross for you so that you could live your life to the fullest and abundantly! He has a purpose for you.

You can be confident in knowing that it will always be, “He loves me” with God.

May you know deep in the depths of your soul, there is nothing you can ever do that can make God love you any less.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39

Happy Valentine’s Day!

-A.C