Here’s a heads-up: If you haven’t gotten your sweetie a gift, time is running out. Valentine’s Day is just a few days away!
St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. Lots of stories are connected with this holiday, many involving love, heroism and romance.
For most of us, this day is a time to touch base with people we love. So of course you’ll focus on your family and good friends on Valentine’s Day. You’ll let the people you love know you love them. That’s what’s fun and special about this day. And if you do it with a sense of faith in the sheer goodness of the human heart, well, you’ll take this celebration of others to a whole new level.
I think this special day also should be a reminder to connect with those people who influence our lives in so many great ways all year long.
Now all that’s great and fulfilling and worthwhile, but I’m going to encourage you to think outside the heart-shaped box. I’m challenging you to open up your heart in a different way with a focus on forgiveness. Think about those people you might have trusted and loved at some past point in your life, but for whatever reason, your bond with them is now broken. I’m talking about the “exes” in your life … the ex-spouse, ex-lover, ex-friend, ex-boss, ex-coach, ex-teacher, ex-colleagues, ex-client, etc.
Wanna treat yourself this Valentine’s Day to the best, most lasting gift ever? Give yourself the gift of forgiveness. Nothing will free you more than forgiving someone who has become an “ex” in your life. That’s because nothing generates more wasted and negative energy than holding onto some sad, disappointing memory or harboring ill will from a relationship gone bad.
You can do this. Your faith will provide you the strength to accomplish it—even if your mind doesn’t want you to try it.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all the people in my life—those I cherish right now and those who had a place in my past. May this day bring you all joy, contentment and love.
I’m curious. Have you already, on your own, acted on my forgiveness challenge? If so, what was the outcome?