It's not too late. You can still send a Valentine to God. You don't have to order flowers or go to the Hallmark Store. You can simply carve some heart-shaped time out of your busy day to be still and know that God is God.
The good news about this Valentine to God is that it doesn't cost you a cent -- at least not right now. It might eventually cost you in alms to the poor. It might cost you time spent attending worship services, or time spent doing volunteer work, or even more time spent with your family. Is this Valentine getting expensive?
There are a couple of views on prayer. One popular view is that prayer is asking God to supply our needs and wants. If you have kept up with Contemporary Christian Music for any length of time, you might have run across these lyrics by Larry Bryant, penned in the mid-1980's. This song was made popular on MTV by recording artist Lulu Roman:
"Lord, I need to talk to you.
There's so much on my heart.
So many burdens makes it hard to know just where to start.
The cattle on a thousand hills -- they all belong to you.
I don't need any cows right now, but something else will do.
I need a brand new house with a swimming pool.
I could use it, Lord, as a witnessing tool.
I need Jesus plates on a brand new car . . .
make me wealthy, keep me healthy.
Fill in what I missed on my never-ending shopping list."
Of course Mr. Bryant's song is all tongue-in-cheek to show us how not to pray. God already knows what we need, and will supply our needs according to his riches. One caveat here: God's value system and our value systems don't always run on parallel lines.
Maybe what we need is to stop and listen to God. God created us for fellowship with him, and until we discover that for ourselves, there is something missing in our lives. We won't find what is missing on Mr. Bryant's shopping list. In fact, if we start spending time with God, God will rearrange our shopping list. You might even like God's version of your shopping list so much that you would want to give a Valentine to God every day.
Pastor Linda
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
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