Valentine's Day Encouragement

Well ladies...I think we are all well aware that tomorrow is Valentine's Day. For some, it may be a fabulous day. For some, it may be a pretty rough day. And for some, it may be a day that you don't even think twice about. Speaking from the perspective of a married woman who 100% loves and adores her husband, it is a day that I both don't really pay all that much attention to, but at the same time, expect it to be abnormally romantic. Funny how that works, huh?

In all honesty, I love the day because it is a holiday and I love all the decorations and excitement behind any holiday...trust me, I have an insane amount of Valentine's inspired pencils on my desk. What can I say, the Target dollar section just calls to me every time!! Back on track- I love Valentine's Day because I love any holiday, especially a ridiculously adorable holiday filled with fun colors and hearts. But, I have the same feelings about Valentine's Day that I have for New Years Eve. It's a little overrated. Believe me...I enjoy every opportunity I get to spend time with my husband, but without fail, every year I regret the pressure I put on the day. Even more so, I hate the pressure I put on Ben and the strain it can sometimes put on our relationship.

I am currently participating in a Bible study on Tuesday nights with a fabulous group of women. We are studying Exodus, in particular the 10 Commandments. Last night we went over the last 6 commandments. One in particular was very convicting for me...you shall not commit adultery. Now, before you go jumping to conclusions, no...I have never nor will I ever cheat on my husband. What was so convicting to me was going back to the Sermon on the Mount when Christ talks about lust. I used to think that he meant that a lustful thought is the exact same as adultery. Now, I understand that what Christ is saying is that we have to cut our sin at the root. Lust or wishful thoughts are the root of adultery. They often lead to adultery and that is why we have to capture our thoughts and be careful with not just only our hearts, but our minds as well.

The reason this was so convicting to me is because I am a total hopeless romantic, and I often have to capture the thoughts I have about life being a fairytale. I want a fairytale, but I have to realize that because of the fall, life is simply not a fairytale. On a large scale, I thought I was pretty good about this. When Fifty Shades of Grey came out, I decided easily not to read it. I viewed, and still view it essentially, as a woman's porn. No, I am not watching anything, but by reading something like that, I am essentially thinking exactly what a man would be watching. When I thought about this, I thought about how devastated I would be if I ever knew that Ben was doing this. That is just the large scale...I am not so good on the smaller scale. All those Nicholas Sparks books do the same thing, just not as graphic. By reading all the fairytales and watching all the fairytales, I am often wishing for the fairytale. Now, don't think that I am saying you can't read those Nicholas Sparks books or watch your chick flicks. I am not at all saying that. I just think you have to be careful not to hold your husband to that standard.

Cut the sin at the root. I would like to encourage all of you, especially all of the wives, to let your husband love you tomorrow. Let him love you how he loves you best. Don't hold him to expectations that he can never fulfill. Let tomorrow be a fabulous day for love to flourish! That is my goal. To encourage my husband and not to put him down. To let him love me because when I let him, he is so incredibly wonderful at it.