This is a Valentine’s Day message to all my single folks who I’m sure are in all kinds of stages of their singleness. If you missed my last year’s Valentine post, you can check it out here. Many are settled in and loving it. Some are a little jaded and cynical and secretly hoping they ban this holiday from going forth another year. And still some are blissfully hopeful and faithfully waiting for a two-some season to come along in their life soon. But then there are those who have a hard time most days, not just this red, roses and chocolate time of the year, with their one-ness . It’s mostly you that I have on my heart, and write this for at this time. First off, let me tell you that I know exactly what it feels like to be rejected yet again, to be alone and by yourself on yet another Valentine’s day, to look back and almost not be able to remember the last time someone took interest in you and wanted to spend time with you. I know what it’s like to feel hopeless and helpless. And I didn’t like it one bit. As I prayed, I began to realize that I had the power to shift my thinking and change my perspective and attitude towards the situation so that I wouldn’t be the sad, miserable individual I was slowly becoming behind closed doors when I was alone. I learned the art of contentment.
Contentment is: the quality or state of being, feeling or showing satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation; a mental or emotional state of satisfaction drawn from being at ease in one’s situation, body and mind. I learned to be a “make lemonade out of lemons” kind of girl. I couldn’t look into a crystal ball and see my future. I had to learn to be content while I waited in faith for my desired outcome. And I had to ask myself the really tough questions: “What if I never meet the love of my life? What if I never get married? Knowing that I didn’t want to constantly fill my life with negative thoughts and energy, nor did I want to feel as if I was going to burst into tears over the next Lifetime movie, I decided to take my emotional state of being into my own hands. I continued to keep my hope, faith and trust in God while I did everything in my power to be the best me I could be, and focused on enjoying the opportunities I had before me. And when those thoughts crept into my head that would cause me to agonize over my singleness, I learned to immediately harness that negativity trying to rent space in my brain, and begin to imagine and speak the exact opposite to myself. It took some practice but it’s such a habit for me now that I don’t even think about it. It’s almost on auto-pilot!
So… my Valentine wish for you, is that you take the time to discover you; what makes you happy, and what are the things you can do to be all that you can be as you wait for your time in Loveland to come. Find what brings you joy, right now, in this moment, on a daily basis, void of any other person’s presence. Get to know yourself and begin to do the things that make you happy on your own. Grow and become more of all that you see and wish for yourself. Pursue your dreams. Fall in love with you, and be your own Valentine… for now!