Will You Be My Valentine?

My dear girls,

You’ll always have a piece of my heart. I may not be in youth ministry anymore, and you were technically never “mine” but a piece of my heart will forever be occupied with believing in you, loving you and cheering you on to be the world changers you all have the power to become.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day – a day that gets more attention that it really should. It’s a neutral day in my world…I don’t loathe it or love it and I don’t think it deserves the weight or attention that is always given to it. Sometimes Valentine’s Day becomes this ugly monster of self pity and hyper awareness of all the things we don’t like about ourselves. You start to think that you’re “unwanted” or “ugly” or “forever alone” because no one is buying you gas station flowers or sale rack candy. My sweet sisters – you are not alone, ugly or destined to a life of loneliness – those are just silly lies.

You are however, made with purpose, beautiful and created for relationships. Don’t let the swirl of a holiday rob you of celebrating who God made you to be: fearless, bold, a friend, a daughter, a sister, an encourager, an artist, a passioned heart. It’s so easy to get swept away with what we look like, what people think of us, who pays attention to us that we forget who we really are.

Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating love…it’s full of treats of course but the focus is on the details and reasons why you love a person. Too many times we get caught up in wanting to be someone’s valentine that we forget to be our own. We are mean about ourselves, we filter our pictures because we don’t like what we look like on our own, we spend time every morning covering up our imperfections and judging the girl we see in the mirror. But that girl is wonderful. She’s no mistake. She isn’t perfect – but those imperfections are what make her real; they make her relatable and someone who can empathize with others. The girl in the mirror has talent, sometimes it’s just buried deep down inside.

My sweet girls – learn to love who you are. Learn to appreciate what makes you…you. Learn to trust that God was not lying when he said he knit you together in your mother’s womb. Learn to lean on the words that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Even in the moments when all you feel is imperfect and ugly and unwanted – learn to quiet those lies so you can hear the love that’s there for you.

And please oh please – learn to love yourself before you look for someone else to love you. So this year – go look in the mirror and ask yourself “will you be my Valentine”. Take time this weekend to write yourself a little love note about all the great things God has given you..your gifts, your passions, your abilities, your beauty – because YOU are lovely and lovable.

Happy Valentine’s Day beautifuls.

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