Why Not Give Yourself A Nice Valentine's Day Gift This Year?

Are you giving yourself a valentine this year? You should you know? Who better than you? Without going all egotistical and everything, you should love yourself even if nobody else does (and hopefully, somebody does). In other words, be your own valentine.

Sam and I totally advocate giving yourself a present. I always advise friends to give themselves a present at Christmas time or for a birthday or for other special occasions. Why not on Valentine’s Day? Treat yourself good.

But, maybe it’s a little hard to treat yourself good if you don’t feel worthy. Why don’t you though? Is it because you find it so hard to forgive yourself for something you’ve done (or not done) in the past? Oh baby! Been there and felt that remorse! But Sam and I like the church reader board down the street from our house that says, “Move forward. Forgive yourself.” Forgive and give yourself a valentine of love this year.

What choice do you have anyway? If you don’t forgive and love yourself, you’ll just mope around fall into a deep in depression and wind up unable to function. You will become angry at everything and everybody, blaming other people for your pain; maybe go on a shooting spree. Or, you’ll give in to drugs or alcohol to mask your true feelings.

The first step to loving yourself is forgiving yourself and that’s the hardest step to take. I know I could never love myself if I didn’t forgive me for some of my past sins. Boy, I have hurt people so badly in the past. I asked them for forgiveness, but my remorseful conscience reminds me constantly of the stupid and hurtful things I’ve done. I have to keep forgiving myself over and over and over again. I become weary sometimes of having to do that. Still, because I can forgive myself I can at least hold my head up most of the time and live a fairly useful life.

And now, I have to say it, (you knew this was coming). I can only forgive myself because God has forgiven me. You have to allow that to happen too. To paraphrase the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians (2:10): “For whom you forgive anything, (God) forgives also.” That includes yourself.

It isn’t likely that Sam and I will be buying each other chocolates for Valentine’s Day although that sure would be one of my top ten choices. Unfortunately, chocolates are bad for him and would ruin my dieting plan. Wait! I’ve got it! Sam and I were out walking in the snow this morning and we saw some kids having snow ball fights and building snowmen and making snow angels. That’s what I want for Valentine’s Day - that childlike spirit that would allow me to continue to enjoy things my inner adult might disapprove of - and that childlike spirit that so easily forgives and forgets.

Happy big red V day!