When I was expecting my oldest son, my due date was Valentine’s Day. I was pretty excited when I learned this bit of information, and throughout the next few months, I found myself hoping that my baby would actually arrive on his due date. I couldn’t think of a more special way to celebrate this day of love than in a hospital, with my dear husband and my precious newborn baby boy.

Statistics show that only a very small percentage of babies actually arrive on their due dates, and my son wasn’t about to be in the minority. Valentine’s Day came and went with no baby. I was disappointed, to say the least. It was hard enough to have had to go beyond my due date; but to have missed out on my Valentine’s baby made it even harder. My husband and I did go out for a nice dinner; but throughout it all, I couldn’t help thinking how much I would have rather been at the hospital!

My second son’s due date was February 7, but he didn’t arrive on time, either. Imagine my pleasure when I learned that I had been scheduled for an induction on . . . February 14! I would have my Valentine’s baby after all!

It all went like clockwork. He arrived just after noon, and my little family were able to spend Valentine’s Day together, celebrating the birth of our second precious son.

But when the next Valentine’s Day rolled around, it was also my son’s first birthday. Instead of planning a special evening with my husband, I found myself scrambling to plan a birthday party!

“But it’s Valentine’s Day,” stated my husband, rather hesitantly.

I gave a little shrug. “It’s also his birthday!”

And that set the pattern for the next 12 years. Although my Valentine’s baby had made that first Valentine’s Day very special, there would be no more romantic dinners on Valentine’s Day. Instead, we would be celebrating a birthday. Although my husband and I scrambled every year to have some time together, we both had to agree that Valentine’s Day would never be the same!

I don’t regret anything, however. Except, perhaps, that my first son didn’t arrive on Valentine’s Day so I would have only had to plan one birthday party per year! My Valentine’s baby is such a blessing to me that I don’t regret the missed romantic dinners on February 14. In fact, he brings so much love to our home that he makes everyday a Valentine’s Day!

And if you stop to think about it, why should we reserve the expression of love to one day a year? Why can’t everyday be a Valentine’s Day? After all, that’s how God sees it! Remember His command to us? “Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 NIV)

And He left us a perfect example of His love, which gushes forth with enough force to drown us not just one day of the year, but EVERY DAY! He gave us the eternal expression of love at Calvary, so that the special relationship He created us to have with Him, the same one that was lost when Eve took the fruit, could be reestablished: “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.” (John 3:16).

And that same love refreshes and sustains us every minute of the year: “You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it” (Isa 45:8 NIV); “The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. There will be times of security for you— a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.” (Isa 33:5)

What is our part in all of this? We must ask: “Ask and it will be given to you;” (Matt 7:7 NIV); we must believe: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. BUT WHEN HE ASKS, HE MUST BELIEVE AND NOT DOUBT” (James 1:5 NIV); and we must open our hearts to receive it: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20 NIV)

This Valentine’s Day, I have two challenges for you:

First of all, don’t wait another entire year to express your love to the precious ones in your life. Make every day a Valentine’s Day!

Secondly and most importantly, open your heart to receive the Valentine’s blessing that God wishes to gush out upon you every day of the year!

Lyn Chaffart