OUR NON-VALENTINE’S DAY DANCE.

It was the kind of average morning in our marriage, almost three years after we danced at our wedding above.  This average morning was not really worth blogging about, and there’s no picture of us in action to put on social media.  Stephen and I had just eaten breakfast, then separated for our individual morning quiet time with Jesus.  Him at the breakfast table, me on the couch in our living room writing in my prayer journal where I have my daily conversations with God.  He finished his quiet time before me and headed upstairs to the office to begin working for the day.  As I finished mine, the dishwasher sound went off to let us know that the dishes were ready to be taken out.  While Stephen normally does the dishes, I thought I would surprise him by going ahead and taking the dishes out before I got started with my work day.

I turned on a slow love song that had been stuck in my head for a few days, and knowing he was upstairs probably already with his headphones on while he worked, I began to sing my heart out.  I love to sing, but I don’t do it as much anymore.  Usually its reserved for times alone in the car when I have a moment to myself when I know no one else in the world can judge me.  While I’ve been told I have a good voice, I’m extremely shy about it, and don’t really let others hear it.  But that morning in the kitchen, I didn’t care if Stephen had his headphones on or not…. I let myself… simply… sing.

The song I was singing really stirred up a lot of emotion as I put the dishes away.  Though it’s a love song, it’s a song about saying goodbye.  When I listen to it, part of me tears up because it makes me think of the time I had to say goodbye to my dad until I get to see him in Heaven again.  And part of me tears up because it takes me back to that place in my early 20s when I had to gain strength to say goodbye to a love of the past that I had to love enough to let go trusting there was a greater love in store better fit for both of us.  As my mind went back to that place of the hurt of goodbye, as I aimlessly put the dishes up and sang along, Stephen came parading down the stairs and into the kitchen with that sneaky look on his face and a big smile.  He had been listening to me all along as I sang my heart out, and now he wanted to cut in with a dance.  He stopped me in the middle of the kitchen, and swept me into his arms, leading the way as we circled around and froze time simply dancing in the kitchen.  Then he pulled me in close, his arms wrapped around me as we simply slow danced, and all I could think is…. “these are the moments I said good bye to the past for.”  These are the moments that I knew with all my heart could exist in the future.  These are the moments that my little girl dreams dreamt up that we could all grow up and find our own Prince Charming.  These are the moments that whether we have no money in the bank, or a million dollars to our name, that I hope we never let life get too busy to stop and dance in the kitchen.

As we all celebrate romance today, my heart always aches for the single girls out there on Valentine’s Day.  I had to cringe through 29 years of lonely Valentine’s before I married my ultimate Valentine at age 30.  I ache for you that our society makes such a big deal about Valentine’s, and I ache for you that I know it feels like it is rubbed in your face.  I understand that longing and all those years of waiting, and I hope the story above can encourage you to not give up waiting for the desires of your heart.  God knows the big picture, He is holding your heart in His hands and preparing the man of your dreams as you wait.  He is always preparing you, and looking back, I can confidently say that His timing is perfect.  It will be in Your life too.  I promise.  Happy Valentine’s Day, and may you find comfort in the greatest love of all knowing Jesus is your first love, and that you deserve a man who loves Him just as much. Don’t give up… you are worth it.