Dear Sister, You are Significant (with or without a Significant Other)

Dear Sister,

Today, you will be encouraged over and over again to weigh your significance by the displays of affection shown to you. Don’t. Let me say it right here, right now: you, dear sister, are significant with or without a significant other.

Today, you will see a myriad of pictures of the flowers that your friend got from her boyfriend. And you’ll size them up, want to estimate the cost and the time that went into selecting such a gorgeous bouquet. You’ll see that a high school friend received roses, and an old college roommate received daisies, and then you’ll walk into a grocery store and wonder if you are somehow less important, less cherished, less valued than the $15.99 display.

Today, you will balk at those who received chocolates, or red hearts, or went out for a nice dinner. You’ll claim that you don’t like this holiday with all its clichés, but in the quiet places of your heart you will sigh, wondering why you’re sitting on the couch in your sweat pants, eating a box of mac and cheese.

Today the temptation will be everywhere – on every screen, street, and sign – to weigh your value in the displays of affection shown to you by a spouse, boyfriend, fiancé, or interest. Which means that if you’re in a relationship, you will end the day believing the lie that we are only as valued as our men show us; and if you’re not in a relationship, you will end the day believing that you would be valued, feel valued, garner significance if you had a significant other.

And it is just not true.

It could not be farther from the truth! Because the hands that formed us long before we took our first breath are forming our lives, transforming our hearts, and mending all the broken places we can name. The God of the universe stepped out of heaven where He was perfectly content in community and love with His Father, and He came to this earth to be the expression of God’s love for you. And He, on this day and all others, wants you to know that you matter to Him. He wants you to know that He sees you, He hears you, and that you are significant to Him right there on the couch with a mouthful of mac and cheese. He paid the ultimate price, gave the ultimate gift, that you might know Him and be one with Him. And if that doesn’t confirm your value, no amount of flowers or chocolates or dates will ever convince you.

Sister, today, right now, our God is pursuing you with more affection that we could fathom. And you have both the invitation and the responsibility to turn your face to Him, to chose to believe Him in His love for you, and to value yourself according to His value for you.

He loves you. He really does.