Valentine’s Day is coming up next week. And I am the poorer for it.
There is something about knowing florists, card-makers, and restaurants make a killing off this self-declared holiday that drives me a little crazy. Each year I stare it in the face and waver. But my kind wife gives me a little push. And I am glad she does.
Each Valentine’s Day, my single adult daughters receive a significant gift from us. Why?
Because the truth of the matter is that Valentine’s Day celebrates romantic love. That’s great if you have a valentine. But if you don’t, it can be a prolonged cultural reminder that you are somehow deficient. You are missing a valentine to care for you. You are somehow less than complete.
The Bible does celebrate marriage and romantic love. But it also celebrates singleness. Our Savior was single and sexually celibate. Paul was as well. We will be single in heaven for all eternity. While marriage points to the relationship of Christ and the church, singleness points to the temporariness of marriage and the goodness of serving the Lord.
Affirming Our Daughters
But it is easy to forget the goodness of singleness when all around you are celebrating romantic love. It can be easy to feel insecure and out of place. It is easy to be tempted to look for love in the wrong places.
That’s where a Christian dad can come in. We have a special power to affirm our daughters as those we will always love. Our arms are always open. Our hearts are always wrapped around their fingers. The answer to the question, “Do you have time to talk?” is always an enthusiastic “Yes!”
So until another valentine comes along, I am my daughter’s valentine. It doesn’t matter whether she is seven or twenty-seven. And I want her to feel my care.
So let the florists , card-makers, and candy-makers have their profit. I’m not giving my daughters flowers. I’m giving them affirmation.
