Disaster Dates, Whole without another Half and Valentines Day

Dear friend who may not love Valentine’s Day,

You have been found.

I just wanted to start out like that.  The Lord left heaven for you.  To find your heart.

To rescue your heart.

I don’t know how you feel about Valentines Day.  I don’t know if you are in a wonderful relationship or dying to be in a relationship.

Or you feel your soul is dying in a relationship.

Whatever your feelings about this day, the Lord’s love has come looking for you.

I feel found and loved by Him today because I have been to 2 different coffee shops today and had people randomly buy my coffee and say Happy Valentine’s Day.

There is no better way for this girl to feel loved than to be bought coffee by random people who said they just wanted me to know God loved me.

Oh yes He does! 

So the title of this blog is disastrous first dates.

I bet you may have a story or two and I wish you were here to tell me about them.

My first date was a set up with a guy from my church. It was a blind date.  I was 18 I think and super excited to finally be going somewhere WITH A BOY!

The first clue should have been that I didn’t know Him or what He looked like and we went to the same church (and it was not a megachurch folks).  I convinced myself we had just missed each other because after all, our church did have a balcony.

He picked me up and I was super excited and a little sweaty to be honest with the nerves.

I didn’t bring a wallet because I expected Him to pay.  I mean that is a thing right?

He didn’t.

He bought His Fazoli’s fast food Italian meal and I watched Him eat.  He asked at one point that I would stop talking so He could enjoy His spaghetti.

Then He wanted to go pick up a Gi-Joe at Toys R Us.  Apparently as an 18-year-old boy He collected them.

Then came the Baskin Robbins visit where I watched HIM EAT ICECREAM.  He brought out a book of questions and asked me if I were a kitchen appliance what would I be.

At that moment my really wanting ice cream self-said, ” A knife!”

He took me home and wanted a kiss.  I politely told Him not in this lifetime.

That was my first and last real date.

I am not going to lie. There have been times I have longed for a relationship– believing it would make me whole.

Two broken people do not make each other whole.  The only one who can make me whole is the one whose body was broken for me.

I still wouldn’t mind the relationship part, but I have learned along the way– JESUS is the only one who makes me (or you) whole.

I think about the woman with the issue of blood. You can meet her in Luke 8.  She had been bleeding for years.

She was considered unclean.

Lonely.

Unwell.

Shame filled her life.

No Valentine’s day date could cure her.

But she met Jesus. She risked finding Him in the crowd.  She reached out for Him and she was healed.

He took time out to make sure she knew he saw her. He knew her.  And He healed her.

Luke 8:48 and he said to her, ” Daughter, your faith has made you tell, go in peace.”

That word well also translates whole.

Healed and whole.

Even without another half.

Friend’s let’s celebrate this Valentine’s Day together not because of our relationship status but because of our salvation and healing savior.

I wish I could buy some coffee for you.

Ps:  If you or someone you know could use some encouragement I would love for you to check out my book Dateless not Dead:  Living fully Alive in the Single Life.  It’s a fun little book full of encouraging truth for your heart– regardless of your relationship status.