(Not So) Happy Single Awareness Day!

“Roses are red. Violets are blue. Vodka is cheaper than dinner for two.” — Unknown

---

Before you break out the liquor, throw yourself a pity-party, and stuff your face with comfort food over a holiday that celebrates love and yet, reminds you of love-gone-bad or no-love-at-all, Valentine's Day doesn't have to be the dreaded Single Awareness Day for lonely people.

There's more to this day than roses, chocolates, cuddly teddy bears, and romantic dinners for two - at least that's what married people say.

From the time I was fifteen, I longed to be married and have my own family. While most guys were looking at partying, going to college, and chasing chicks, I was more interested in stability. I wanted to be someone's knight in shining armor!

Despite my longing to be married, I remained single until I was 33 years old. Had my wife shown up about ten years earlier, I would not have had to endure countless nights of feeling alone, depressed, unwanted, and even rejected.

In my despair, I remembered a Valentine's gift my Mother gave me years ago, from that moment on, I never dreaded Valentine's Day, again.

My mother was big on holidays. Each holiday, no matter how big or small, she always made each one special for my sister and me. She decorated, made cupcakes and cookies, bought gifts, and always expressed her love in various ways. Significant holidays and birthdays were celebrated with lots of attention!

One particular Valentine's Day, my mother gave me a gift I will treasure forever. With three red roses in a glass vase, she began to tell the story of the Three Roses:

---

The rose is God's most favorite flower. He made the petals from the red velvet of His soft robe to represent His majesty, and formed them like a cloak. He breathed the most radiant fragrance into their pores to remind us of the sweet perfume He smells when we pray.

He made their stems unlike other flowers, too. Instead of a soft vine, He made them from an evergreen wooden fiber to represent His gift of eternal life. And He covered the stem in prickly thorns to remind us of the crown His Son wore on Calvary, paying the price for our sins.

In a few days, these flowers will droop and their petals will turn from bright red to a darkened hue as they begin to die and fall off, representing the blood of Jesus dripping from His body and falling to the ground at the cross.

God placed roses here as a reminder of His love for us, not only at Valentine's Day but forever. Although the flowers may die and fade away, His love will endure forever!

But, they don't just remind us of the Trinity. They remind us of each other. You see, God represents one rose, you represent the other. And the third rose represents me.

Just like before, one day I will die and fade away, but my love will never fade away. And you will never be alone because God will always be with you until we see each other, again.

---

I don't have a clue if she made this story up or if it was from something she read, but to this day, I have never come across anything similar, so I think it may have been God-inspired - a special gift to us for Valentine's Day.

The moral of the story is, as a single or married person, you are not alone. You may or may not be in a relationship or have the greatest relationship. But, when God is your Valentine, you'll never be alone, again.

He sees your heart. He knows your desires. He shares your losses and pain. So, I say, rather than put yourself through misery each Valentine's Day, go buy yourself three red roses, and remember He bought them for you! Put them on display where you can smell them and stare at them often, so you'll be reminded He is with you and His love envelopes you!

Valentine's Day isn't just about love between a married or dating couple. It's about celebrating love for each other! It's a day set aside to put L-O-V-E in the spotlight and bring us to attention that God's greatest commandment is "Love one another, as I have loved you." (John 15:12 NKJV)

Show your love, today, by giving, caring, and expressing love to others, and stop limiting it to romance (or lack thereof). Love is bigger than that! Love is greater than that! Love is stronger than that!

Go and love one another and celebrate Valentine's Day, and you won't have time to be alone!

Buy some roses and hand them out to strangers or friends. Tell them the story of God's favorite flower!

Shhhhh, don't tell the other flowers, they might get jealous!