A Valentines day Story

It was cloudy that night. The young cowboy with chisled features was in no mood to chat. He just traveled a million miles over the ocean by way of street car. He spent his last penny on a shave and hair cut. The face of this cowboy said it all as he strolled into town for the first time after his heart was broken by the girl of his dreams. He didnt know his life was about to get a lot more complicated, the last hing this old cowpoke needed was to find love, in the town where romance had failed him…

I dug into the history of Valentine’s day a bit while thinking about what I should write about. I found a dark wormhole… I won’t get into the dark sides of this “romantic holiday”. Instead I will do a quick summary and bring it back together in the end with a beautiful true story. 

Valentine’s Day originated: 

1. Ancient Roman rituals
   1. Lupercalia
   2. Matchmaking
2. Christian Martyr named Valentine (or Valentinus)
   1. Secret Marriages
   2. The First “Valentine”
   3. Establishment of “Valentines Day” in 5th century, by  Pope Gelasius
3. Slow Shift to “Romance” in the Middle Ages
   1. Poet Geoffrey Chaucer ca 1382 poem “Parliament of Fowls”, where he described birds choosing their mates on St. Valentine’s Day.
   2.  A ca 1415 poem written by Charles, Duke of Orléans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
4. Modern Global celebration of romance
   1. In the 18th century, friends and lovers in Great Britain exchanged small tokens and handwritten notes. 
   2.  In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began mass-producing elaborate lace-trimmed cards in the U.S..
5. Mass Production & Global Industry
   1. Today, over 145 million cards are exchanged annually in the U.S. alone. 
   2. Cupid

But is love romance? Is romance Love? Is romance important? Is love important? Should we care? Is Charlie a helpless romantic or an overanalytical stick in the mud? 

Romance: An intense, emotional & temporary feeling driven by passion, attraction, and ego.  Romance focuses on excitement and fantasies.

Love: A steady, selfless, and lasting commitment. Love focuses on connection, security and relationship.

Romance can exist without love. Love can exist without romance. 

Romance and Love are in many ways linked only because they get confused on where one ends and the other starts. Many times romance can lead to love, but romance can not sustain relationships, the purpose of romance is attraction (or is the purpose of attraction,  romance?)…Either way, it’s the laws of attraction that fuel romance.. but… Love? That’s a mystery… True love is defined as “self sacrificial offering and freely putting another’s needs, above your own needs, to the sole benefit of another”

Self Sacrifice? For another?  Is that even reasonable?… The bible says this: A man must “love” his wife, as Jesus loves the church (the church is the people , not the organization or the building) and GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR her…. So, Love is to give up self to the point of death (as Jesus did), for the sole benefit of another!!! WHAT ABOUT ME?? The Bible also said “Love your neighbor as yourself”.  Doesn’t that mean that self must come first so that I can love my neighbor?? Well, if you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, doesn’t that mean you should both have the same food? Clothing? Warmth? Vacations? Cars? … Everyone having the same thing is Socialism, right?… No comrade, that’s not socialism. To give what you have to those in need, it’s called love…. Notice the command is not  “Force those that have more than others to give to others until you think it’s fair!” the command is inward, not outward, so this command is to your heart, to my heart, to measure self, not others… 

Ok, enough with this definition stuff, right?!!

Love, the love God gives us is self sacrificial, undeserved, unearned, we can no more deserve this love, nor can anyone do anything to stop God from loving us. God said: we can love because he (Jesus) first loved us… He loved us before we could love Him or others. We did nothing to earn this love, in fact, we have earned rath, punishment & JUSTICE! Because we disobeyed the law of God, Yet he loved us so much, that he gave us a way to be reconciled to Himself for eternity. God Gave his son as “payment” for what we have done, to be punished for our wrong doings. If we try to pay for our own wrong doings, we would spend forever in Hell (Yes, there is a real place called “Hell” and it is for those who reject God, so they can spend eternity exactly where they want, away, apart, separated from GOD”, it’s not beautiful, but God will give you what you want) 

The Story of God’s love for you and me is amazing. Do you know the reason God loves you? It’s easy, he Created you and gave you a reason to live. Do you know God? I hope so, because I know God, and He Loves me personally. He Wants you to know him.

God Bless, C.