Bob and I volunteer for Sunday School at our Church. While Bob is a small group leader for the 3rd grade boys, I get some future practice handling the 4 year olds. Let me tell you, 4 year olds are great. Last week we had Alexa in our classroom. Now the way to describe Alexa is this, she says what she says, she means what she says, she knows why she said it and doesn't understand why you don't get it. Got the picture? She is adorable, but outspoken, precocious and bold. So I sat down next to her as everyone was coloring their hearts and asked her, "So, Alexa, are you excited for Valentines Day?" She immediately replied, "Miss Bethany, its ValenTIMES Day." Thinking I must have heard her wrong I corrected, "Don't you mean ValenTINES Day?" to which she quickly quipped, "Nope, ValenTIMES, I get ValenTIMES cookies, ValenTIMES cards and a ValenTIMES party." I sat there wondering if I should continue the debate and decided against it. I conceded, "Well then, Miss Alexa, I hope you have a great ValenTIMES Day."
I thought about that little conversation all afternoon and over the past day. While to little Alexa it was purely about a difference in spelling, I started to ponder how I could pull a nugget of deeper meaning from the great ValenTIMES debate. Then as I thought about our weekend and how we were going to celebrate Valentines, it hit me. When Bob and I talk about our life, we talk about it in times, "Remember the time when........." or, "The time goes by so quickly now......" or "Times have sure changed." Every high and low point that we have had in our life, every expression of love centers around a time.
The beautiful thing is that the times don't wait for a special day or a special month, no, they keep happening no matter what.
Valentines Day has this aura of a "Give a little more than you normally would for one day" kind of love. You know, go the extra mile on this one day to show your love to someone. Its great to get flowers, give cards, lavish chocolate and fluffy "I love you" teddys, but what if we lived life, our times, like it was Valentines Day always? How amazing could our relationships be if we lived out all of the high and low times of life showing that special Valentines Day kind of love. It won't be easy and there will be times where extending that special V-day love will be a challenge, but imagine how we could affect our world if we all chose to live this way. Imagine how we could share the Love of Christ with others through ValenTIMES loving them. What a difference we could make! This was my challenge this year, extended to me by a bold little 4 year old. I want to have a marriage and life that celebrates ValenTIMES Day all throughout the year.
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