A Single Girl Ponders Valentine’s Day—and Love

So I’m at the grocery store yesterday and I walk into a veritable Heart Fest. Seriously. I pushed my shopping cart through the front door and into a land of heart-shaped cookies, cupcakes, and balloons, red roses, teddy bears, and cards of all shades and sizes proclaiming love.

Ah, Valentine’s Day. The day of all things red-—and love

Then I noticed quite a few couples grocery shopping together, which is unusual. Or maybe I just noticed it more today. Some of these two-somes looked a lot like each other; they say that happens sometimes. Like the outdoorsy couple in hiking gear that looked like they just stepped out of the LL Bean catalog. Others, it seems, don’t resemble each other at all. But they’re together—-even at the grocery store.

Are these people in love? Or just getting by? Are they happy?

This I ponder as I meander to the deli. Here, the clerk slices my low sodium turkey, another seemingly mundane task on another mundane day. That is, until she looks up and sees someone named Phil walking by looking straight at her. He smiles and says hello. Deli Girl says “Hi” back with a smiled so wide you’d think she’d just won the Colorado lottery.

Hmmm.

What about the older woman with sneakers brighter than her Grandma-coif hairdo? She picks up and puts down steaks with an indecisive look. Does she have someone special to go home to with those steaks, or is she all alone tonight?

I wonder, as I stand in the checkout line next to a twenty-something guy with Red Bull and deodorant, how Love works.

Who picks whom and why? What attracts someone to another for life? What makes a couple work—or not? People have been coupling, loving, and doing life together for centuries. And yet, my head swims.

It is a mystery.

And then I remember. God is a God of mystery and miracles—especially when it comes to love. He excels at getting the right people together at the right time. If we let Him, He truly is the best Matchmaker ever.

That’s what I’m counting on. I want love to find me…real, mutual love that’s lasting and good. I trust that the Author of Love knows what I need in the man best-suited for me. And that He knows what you need, and who is best-suited for you.

Maybe one day my Love Story will begin. And I hope it’s a really good read. A mystery? Perhaps. But a good romantic comedy--

Now that would be delightful.

In the meantime, instead of bemoaning the love we don’t have, let’s celebrate—with friends, family, and others—the love we do.