hey, love!

Dear Valentine's Day,
Hi there. You may not remember me--we haven't spent much time together, besides for my freshman year Valentine's disaster and the fact that my mom uses you as an excuse to send me socks with little hearts on them and I'll take any opportunity to eat chocolate and talk about love.
So, Valentine's Day, let's talk about love. I'm afraid that you've made a bit of a mockery out of something that was so cool. I'm afraid that in the hustle and bustle of trying to find a boy to take us out to dinner, and rushing to the Hallmark store to buy boxes of Valentines and chocolates to say "I love you," or trying to wear as much red/pink/purple as possible without looking tacky (impossible), you have caused us to lose sight of what that day, and every day, should be about.
Valentine's Day, I wish that you were less concerned about reminding me that I'm single and more concerned with reminding me that three little words aren't reserved for a boy, but that I should day them, sing them, shout them, live them, with everyone.
I wish that you hadn't taken love--God's best idea--and turned it into chocolates and flowers and spending money to prove affection. I wish, Valentine's Day, with all of my heart, that you were just like February 13 or February 15, or June 9 or October 21. I wish that you were just like any other day--a day where a boy and a girl fall in love for the first time because of conversation and music and books and laughter, and it doesn't involve teddy bears or an overpriced bouquet of flowers. I wish you were a day when two people realize that they can't live without each other, and it's not extravagant at all, but it's perfect.
I wish, Valentine's Day, that we celebrated you every time a boy does something that makes us feel beautiful, like the luckiest girl in the entire world; I wish we celebrated every time we think, happily, "This isn't real, you're not real," every time we learn how to give, how to care for, how to appreciate another person. I wish we'd celebrate you when walls of fear come tumbling down and love becomes a possibility. I wish, Valentine's Day, we'd celebrate you at every wedding, every time a baby is born, at every church service, every visit from family, with every kind word and every thoughtful action.
I wish, Valentine's Day, that you'd talk about what love actually is.
Love is what put breath in my lungs.
Love is why I believe in God.
Love is my hope for tomorrow.
Love is redemptive and powerful and stronger than the grave.
Love seeks me out. Love does not leave me alone.
Love is giving and compassionate and sacrificial.
Love is selfless, love is just.
Love remains.
So, Valentine's Day, I wish you'd tell all of your followers that after the flowers wilt and the chocolates expire and the bill for the hot air balloon at sunset comes in, love remains. After Valentine's Day gets replaced with St. Patrick's Day, love remains. After we lose hope in you, love remains. After everything, love remains, and that is what we should celebrate.

Love always,
Kara Lee Kimball