A Valentine for our Father

Bill B.
Click for Valentine for Amoy Sue

Happy Valentine's Day!
I was disappointed to be told, only one day in advance, that I had to be in Fuzhou, the provincial capital, this entire weekend. So Sue will celebrate tonight with Shannon and his new bride Miki, with dinner and a stroll amongst the magnificent display of lanterns by Xiamen's Yuandang Lagoon (left from Lantern Festival).

Fortunately for me, Sue does not mind celebrating Valentine's a couple days late because in our family we don't wait for holidays to say "I love you". We say it every day, several times a day. And if we call each other on the phone, we hang up with "Love you!" It is not just habit or ritual but purposeful. I say "I love you" many times a day to my wife and sons not just for their sakes but for mine.

Daily circumstances change, and I have ups and downs, but the one constant in my life is Love--my Father's and family's love for me, and my love for them. But it helps to express that love, aloud. When I say "I love you" aloud to my family, or my Father, it reminds them that, in spite of the joys or woes today, I love you. And if I'm having a bad day and just blew it, I still love you, and I want to do better.

Saying "I love you" also reminds me that, in spite of what is happening around me, or within me, that I love them, and they love me. This love between my Father, my family, and me, is the one constant in the swirling maelstrom of modern life.

Statistically, half of Americans divorce, so human love can also be fickle--but this is all th more reason for me to daily speak out and act out my love for Sue, and my sons, and not just wait for the annual appointed day to give flowers, a dinner, say "I love you," and go my way.

My wife and sons need to be told often that I love them, to reassure them, because human love changes. Fortunately for all of us, our Father's love is unchanging. God is love, and God does love, regardless. And yet he tells us over and over throughout his word that He love us, and he shows us through his daily care for us that He loves us.

Do we show, daily, our love for our Father? He does not "need" to be told, perhaps, but WE need to tell him daily, to keep those lines of communication between us free and uncluttered. Saying "I love you" to our Father reminds us that the Great Constant in a changing life and world is that HE is our Father, and we his chlidren, and we love one another. And this reminds us to avoid anything that hurts this relationship, or grieves the One who Loved us before we were created.

It is written that we can love only because we are loved. Today, and every day, say "I love you" to your family, and your Father. And don't just say it but live it.

And click "My Valentine for Amoy Sue" to read one of the many I've written for you.
www.amoymagic.com