As this Valentine’s day draws to a close I find myself reflecting back to last year’s Valentine’s day. Every year on or around the holiday my dad and I go out for a father daughter date. We’ve been doing this since I was about 3 and we never miss it, that is until last year. Last year was different because 14 of us were living on a farm of sorts in the jungle of Costa Rica. We’d been there for a month, and at the time this was the longest I’d ever been away from family. I remember the night before Valentine’s day I confided in a couple of friends how I was nervous about being homesick the following day, what with missing one of my favorite traditions and all. They prayed with me and we went to bed without saying a word of I was feeling to another soul.
The following day, Valentine’s day, the Lord was so kind to me. First off our host decided to give us the day off from work. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved our work, but having an unexpected day to spend with God was such a sweet gift and I was excited. On the Farm there weren’t a lot of places to go to be alone, but we did have one place. It was an old building that would one day be used as a school house for missionaries but while we were there it was just for storage and left mostly empty. The building sat in the middle of a cornfield on three sides and had a little back porch that faced the jungle. I loved going there to be alone with God but really only did it on our Sabbaths, I wanted to keep it special.
I spent the entire morning out there with God, worshipping and praying. I had decided to write a little note for every one of my 13 squad mates living there. Now I love the idea of notes but actually coming up with words is very hard for me so I spent my time mostly asking God what he wanted me to say to his kiddos. And a lot of prayers of gratitude for his unfailing love and kindness pouring out in my life.
When I came back to my bed I found two very sweet Valentine’s with flowers from my lovely team mates Heather and Cait. It made me tear up then as I read how they saw me and I teared up again tonight as I reread their kind words. 
The rest of the day passed normally, until about 4 or 5 O’Clock when the guys (there were 4 of them) told all us girls we had to go inside our rooms and stay until they said otherwise, also that if we wanted to get dressed up we could. Now I had no earthly idea what was going on and I wasn’t the only one who was confused, Heather missed the conversation and just saw the men moving tables so she inocently asked “Are y’all having fight night?” When I finish my story you’ll understand just how funny that is and I don’t think she’ll ever live it down.
I may not have known what was going on but I’ll never miss out on an opportunity to get all dressed up. So I put on my one dress I had with me, borrowed mascara and eye shadow from friends and had the talented Lydia do my hair. It was the first time we’d really felt like girls since leaving home and we went all out with what we had, blasting Taylor Swift as we laughed and danced around the room getting ready. Another moment I recognized as a sweet gift from God. 
When we were all ready the guys came to our door, dressed in their Sunday best, and escorted us one at a time to our seats. They had rearranged the tables to form one long table and covered it with table cloths, flower peddles and little candles. At each girls place was a note with their name on it that each one of the guys had taken the time to write a short message in. Once we were all seated the men explained that they wanted us to know how, as daughters of the king, we should be treated. They then proceeded to wait on us and bring us drinks and our meal. I was completely blown away that they would go to all this trouble for us. I felt so honored and cared for.
After dinner we took communion together, lead by our host. As I looked at our little Farmily, brothers and sisters in Christ, and took in how grand everything felt on this sweet night, I thought of the day in heaven when we get to go to the feast the Father is preparing for us and how my mind can’t even comprehend how wonderful it will be.
The rest of the evening was spent eating sweet treats, playing Valentine’s day themed fish bowl the guys had set up, and dancing the night away while our brothers washed the dishes and cleaned up after dinner. I went to bed that night in awe of these men God had gifted us with as brothers and their generous hearts. And I thanked God for such a wonderful day and all the little details he’d shown up in.
It amazes me how much our creater loves us and how willing he is to show it. I think that’s a part of why I love this day so much. It’s a beautiful reminder of all the good things God has for us. While romantic love certainly is a gift it’s not one I’ve experienced yet, instead I’ve had the pleasure of watching my earthly father love my mom and teaching me what it looks like to be cared for. Of having brothers who make me laugh no matter what and show me what a man pursuing God’s heart looks like. I’ve been given more gifts from my heavenly father than I could count and still every day I’m met with his gentle love.
I know many of you won’t relate to the gifts in my life, but I’d like to challenge you to count your own gifts. Each one of us has been given different things because we’re different people. Even those in my own family would list different gifts God has given them, but I promise you, if you’re looking for them, you’ll be able to find those sweet gifts God has put in your life too.
Happy Valentine’s day everyone! You are deeply loved and charished by the God who made the choice to create you!
