𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝔻𝕒𝕪

Valentine's Day.

it's called a "Hallmark holiday"

and traditionally observed by roses

chocolate, cards and romantic gestures.

So the question begs to be asked...

How many people are expecting their unsuspecting partners to proclaim their undying love? And honestly, how many of people embark on a journey that they didn't truly want in their heart of hearts, because they didn't have the courage to be honest with themselves and/or their partner? How many take the path of least resistance and allow themselves to be coaxed into something they're not ready for? How many people feel the pressure of February 14th to display something they secretly don't feel?

I know, that's more than one question..

That's just my brain in analytical mode, examining societal structure and how people acquiesce to unspoken expectation in an effort to avoid confrontation. I fully feel the angst of those who have made life-altering decisions on February 14th for the sake of peace, conforming or compromise.

Society's fecundity of fickle standards and rules set the stage for pain, disillusion and disenchantment for so many gentle people, who would rather propose to their partner than deal with the terror of disappointing them.

So if this day causes a wee dread for you each year as it rolls around, consider this...there is no greater "Valentine" than the One who gave his life so that we could see February 14th A.D. roll around each year. He is the ultimate Love, the Creator of us, and He created St. Valentine, the Bishop with Compassion so that he could do heaven's work here on earth.

His sacrifice atoned for all of us and He made us all saints. This day could be called Compassion day, a gift from the Creator who created us in His image physically, emotionally and spiritually. St. Valentine was who he was in Christ, and he could be rightly celebrated as a man of Compassion.

What if Valentine's Day became a day of displaying Compassion beyond the expected and traditional ways? What if this is the day that the Lord made for you to extend humanity to someone you've maybe never noticed before? The homeless guy on the side of the road most days, the man walking with a little gas can on the side of the highway. The customer standing before you who is short $6.00 at the register, a disheveled mom with a little girl who's wearing a dirty dress and little shoes that have seen better days...

These...

These are our Valentines.

Maybe that homeless guy will spend that $5 on "junk" but give it to him anyway. Your act of kindness is priceless to him. Maybe you have no money to give him: remember that the best things in life can't be bought. Even a simple smile could save someone, add a prayer over him and you just gave him more than the world can ever offer. Compassion at work.

The young guy with the gas can ran out of gas five miles away, has walked to town and filled his little gas can and is walking back to his car four and a half miles away. He walked five and a half miles with a gas can on a Sunday morning. He sat in somewhat stunned silence, thinking I'm an angel, and I told him I'd stay until he got his car running. He had tears filling his eyes as he said" God sent you" and as I followed him out onto the busy highway, he put his arm out his window and pointed up to the sky as he drove away. He's not wrong. Compassion at work.

The young mother is trying to make it on her own with her daughter and gets paid tomorrow. She crumbles as her bank card is only good for part of her bill, and she starts looking at what she had picked up and then starts putting some of it back.

Can you feel it? The all-too-familiar embarrassment, the frustration, the hopelessness. The hanging on by a thread. But it was a thread of His robe. He was right there, extending His hand as I slid my card, and then I went around to hug her as she started to fall a little apart. She hung on for dear life and grabbed her little girl and pulled her in. She said she felt something amazing, and walked out the door a little bit taller with her groceries and her little girl. She looked back at me in a silent "thank you". I gave her hope in humanity for $6 ( such a steal). Compassion at work.

I like to preach B I G.

Be kind to all you meet

Inspire others by your actions

Give something away today.

We all have the power to change a life, to make a difference, and to restore hope to someone. I'm definitely no-one special, I just understand the assignment. In a world where we can be anything, be kind and the rest will fall into place. Let the Spirit guide you in goodness. Put down your pride and your self-promotion banners, and pick up His banner instead. Don't just talk it to impress. Walk it to affect. One day you'll look back and realize that the little things really are the big things in life.

Happy VALENTINE'S COMPASSION day!

❤️💚❤️

Here's an article of its suggested origin:

"Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus. According to legend, the priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and, by some accounts, healed from blindness. Other accounts hold that it was St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, for whom the holiday was named, though it is possible the two saints were actually one person. Another common legend states that St. Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war. It is for this reason that his feast day is associated with love." (Britannica, 2026)

Valentine’s Day, social custom, Also known as: Saint Valentine’s Day, St. Valentine’s Day, Britannica Editors, Feb. 14, 2026 •History, https://www.britannica.com

💚

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

" And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭7‬, ‭13‬ ‭NKJV

‭‭AMEN.