Candy Hearts

…Love is kind…1 Corinthians 13:4

I love Valentine’s Day. I will admit I have an unfair advantage for this holiday though.  I just love all the Valentine cards I get from my little lovelies.  I love to see their cute little lettering and I always giggle when I see how hard they tried to squeeze the 11 letters that spell Mrs. Wohlfert into a space barely big enough for a 5 letter first name. I especially love it when the letters spill backwards uphill to fit on the card.  I love the way they give them to me with a hug and a smile as if they have just handed me the keys to a new car.  It’s a great day in first grade!

We made our mail boxes today and the room was just a buzz as they cut and glued little construction paper hearts on the giant envelopes we made with stapled red paper.  They were nothing fancy but to them, they were great works of art!  As we were in the middle of the project one little boy asked me who ever came up with the idea in the first place.  I told him I’d share the whole story on Valentine’s Day but as a sneak preview to the lesson I told him the day was the feast day of St. Valentine. He smiled and said “I can’t wait to see what she was all about.” I smiled even bigger and said, “St. Valentine was a boy.”   His jaw dropped and he said, “No way a boy thought of all this, you gotta be kidding me!” I laughed out loud! 

Although I really enjoy February 14th, one thing about the holiday I don’t enjoy are the little candy hearts with messages.  My philosophy quite basically is; if it isn’t chocolate candy it isn’t worth eating!  I saw bags and bags of these little treasures the other night when I was buying Valentine treats for my little lovelies and as I stood reading some of the messages I had a thought. What if we read each of those candy messages and added the words “said God” at the end of each one?  I started laughing right in the center aisle of the store.  Not all of the messages worked, like the one that said UR HOT STUFF, Said God…but most of them worked!  When we are reminded in the New Testament letters to pray often and include God in all of our plans and love Him with our whole heart and soul, we sometimes have to think creatively.  I do think God reminds us often how much he cares for and loves us; we just don’t always see it.  If God is the author of love, who’s to say He can’t write a love note on a heart shaped lump of pastel colored sugar.  Here’s what He might be saying to you…BE MINE said God,   UR SWEET said God, TRUE LOVE said God, XXOO said God or CRAZY 4U said God. 

If you happen to come across some of these little holiday treats this Valentine’s Day, grab a few and see what message God might have for you.  For extra credit tell someone else to add the words to the messages they read.  Nobody ever said love couldn’t be silly and besides, those icky little candy hearts have now been given a purpose in my opinion!

A Seed To Plant: Get in touch with your first grade self today.  Cut out a paper heart and write this verse from 1Corinthinas or any other verse about love on it and randomly leave it for someone who could use a little dose of God’s love. If you really want to be fancy, leave a package of candy hearts with the new reading instructions.

Blessings on your day