Mike has always made sure to make Valentines special. I never remember a time that he did not do something. For years it was roses and then it was jewelry. The roses were beautiful and smelled wonderful but the frugal part of me thinks it is ridiculous to over pay for one particular day! Buy them the next day! He would not agree to that because that would not be Valentines Day. To Mike, it was about making that day special and I was worth that extra. I have always appreciated Mike's sensitive side and his generosity. Everyone likes to feel special and loved!
I would prefer you surprise me every so often with a bouquet of fresh flowers from the grocery store or a letter. Wild flowers are my favorite and if you could stop in a field and pick them that would be my favorite. I have kept all of Mike's letters because they are precious to me. I have many of the notes that he leaves in my suitcase when I go out of town because they remind me how much he cares.
As Valentines approaches I am reminded how I get fresh flowers all the time. Not many days go by that I do not see some type of flower blooming like pansies and winter jasmine in the winter. Before long I will be seeing hyacinths, daffodils, daisies, tulips and azaleas. Then in the summer some of my favorites: dogwoods, magnolias, hydrangeas, camellias and hibiscus. Even in the fall we have lavender, marigold, goldenrod and heather. God sends us these flowers to enjoy His beautiful creations. He has also made them for other reasons. Many animals eat flowers for nourishment and some us it for shelter. We cook with many herbs and some are used for medicinal purposes.
God nourishes our souls through His creation. We can feel His presence while in the beauty of nature. Nature reveals God’s glory, presence, wisdom, creativity, and, mostly, His love! I think that is why we are drawn to spend time in nature. I like the way Charles Spurgeon said it, "I like to see my Savior on the hills and by the shores of the sea! I hear my Father’s voice in the thunder and listen to the whispers of His love in the cadence of the sunlit waves. These are my Father’s works and, therefore, I admire them and I seem all the nearer to Him when I am among them."
Not only does God send us flowers all of the time but He has written us the ultimate love letter! There is NOTHING we will have to go through that is not in the Bible. Anything I need to know is there. In John 3: 16 God tells us how much He loves us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." God told us that He created us to be like Him and that we are very good! Genesis 1: 27, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. I created you in my image." Genesis 1:31, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
And for each one of us He knit us together in our mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." He knows all about you and me. Psalm 139: 3, "You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." He even knows the number of hairs on our head! Matthew 10: 30, "And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." His precious thoughts of us are more than the grains of sand! Psalm 139: 17-18, "How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would out number the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you." We are so loved and cared for!
Enjoy your flowers and love letter this Valentines! You are His beloved!
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