Valentine’s Day. The couples out there sure make it rough for the Singles. So much fuss over the day. While some relationships are truly celebrating each other, many are just extras in a big show. Many men are scrambling to perform and deliver a good performance.  Many women are giving a lot of fake green lights to guys this week to make sure that they secure a man to bring out his wallet and shower them with attention and affection. The streets are packed with flowers sellers, everyone is wearing a shade of red and you can’t find a bar of chocolate left in the store for your personal craving.

One can become SERIOUSLY aware of one’s “singleness” on a day like Valentine’s Day. Even friends in relationships can be very insensitive on Valentine’s Day (sometimes without knowing it). Some people on the other hand are just trying to feel good about themselves when they narrate every minute of their V-Day (Cough Cough…Ladies….)Either way, the morning after V-Day can feel like a rotten vomit of people’s narration of the day before and the enjoyment they get out of the listeners eye expanding out of envy.

Not you…not this valentine. You are too precious in God’s eye to be feeling any kind of low because a guy didn’t buy you flowers that will die in 3 days or because some girl didn’t say yes to being your valentine…or that you just didn’t have a fully “romantic” day. No. not you. Not this Valentine’s Day. You are too valuable to feel low in V-Day.

Here are some reason why it’s great to be an Adult Christian single on Valentine’s Day

1) It’s a fantastic Litmus Test of self-love: Nothing better to test your level of self-love than a day where the world tells you that love for you should be coming from someone else or that your capacity to love has to be expressed by spending on someone else….the day that the world dares try to tell you that you are uncool because you’re not in a romantic activity. You can LEARN a lot about yourself on V-day. You will learn about your level of insecurity, your capacity to not be phased by public opinion, your ability to be centered and not be pressured by public culture….and you can learn that these are areas you need to work on, and begin the honest journey to doing so.One of the things that drive people into the wrong relationships is that they could not emotionally cope alone. Their need to be in a relationship superseded their need to be with the RIGHT person. Valentine’s day is a great work out for your sense of emotional self-sufficiency.

2) It’s a great way to see how fake people can be to get the sex, love, affection and attention they crave. Women who don’t really care about men happily agree to go on dates; men who don’t really treasure women shower them with affection hoping to get some type of return on investment. As a single Christian, it’s a great excuse to focus your mind on what TRUE love should mean and how true love should be EXPRESSED. That’s not to say that V-Day is not a good thing. There are millions of couples who are really celebrating the love they have for each other but there are millions more who are using that day as a means to an end.

3) Action speaks louder than words: Huh? Yea. We all say we love ourselves and we appreciate ourselves and all that good sounding stuff. Well, action speaks louder than words. Prove it to yourself. If you were in a relationship with someone and they kept telling you all that cute stuff about how they appreciate you but don’t show it, would you still be with them? No …so why …WHY would you do that to yourself? Why would you not treat yourself in the way that you SAY that you feel about yourself? …and what better day to show love to yourself than on the day that the world says you should love on the one you care about most. FYI: you won’t be able to fully love another person unless you fully love yourself.Some say that Valentine’s Day is SAD: Singles Awareness Day. Sounds bad on the surface,…but in the right context, it’s a great thing. Many singles have never taken the time to look within to be AWARE of themselves…what they want out of life and out of Love. Many singles have never spent time to REALLY take care of themselves. Do it. Give yourself a treat. A major one.

4) It’s a chance to reconnect with the TRUE lover of your soul: Yea the one that didn’t just give flowers, sex, chocolate and fancy things...but his very LIFE: Make absolutely NO mistake about this. No one can love you the way Jesus Christ has. They say that Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love. Well the Bible says in John 15:3 that “No greater love exists, than the one where a person lays down his life for his friends” That’s YOU. Someone did that for you. Just to prove to you that he loved you…he laid down his life…even when he had no wrong. Jesus didn’t buy gifts…he didn’t buy flowers. He didn’t give you a night of pleasure, he bought you an eternity of pleasure and he didn’t pay with money or a credit card. No. He paid with his very LIFE. It’s the greatest form of love and you already have it. Celebrate that.

5) It’s a chance to SPREAD Love: Spend the day performing random and anonymous acts of kindness. Like real kindness and see how good you feel. It will blow your mind. Offer to contribute to someone gas, give a beggar an unusual amount, find an old blanket and give it to someone homeless. Drop off a 6pack of water at your neighbor’s door and write an anonymous note that you did it “just because”. No only will this make you feel incredible, you’ll be pleasing God. He is the inventor of unwarranted acts of kindness so be like him…and feel high in the process.

6) Form deeper friendships: Take it from me. You will form a deeper bond with whoever you spend Valentine’s Day with. Spend it with girlfriends and they truly become your GIRLFRIENDS! Spend it with your boys and they truly become your BOYS. Spend it with a group of friends or a church group and you will all really bond.Now…to the fun stuff. Here are some fun things you can do on V-Day to make it a fun one.

A) Group chops: Eat out in a group. Get your friends together (make it as mixed as possible –gender wise- and I suggest 4 minimum) and go out to eat! You don’t have to stay home just because you don’t have a date. Hello! Get out there and i guarantee you…you folks will have a great time and you’ll make some couples jealous because you’ll be so free, having real conversations and not feeling like you’re tip toeing with your mouth like many people will be doing that night. My only suggestion, make it a group of Christian friends.

B) Group Affirmation: Find a group of friends and even if it’s not all night, find time to share about what love REALLY is from the Bible. It will take your attention from how the world is defining love, to what love REALLY is.

C) Tube night: Have friends that have an interest in the same show or movie, get together and have a TV show or movie marathon.

D) Tu Familia: Valentine’s Day does no have to be a day to only celebrate “romantic” feelings. It’s can be (should be) a day to celebrate Love in general. You a single guy, send your mom flowers, you a single lady, get a gift for dad. Got brothers…sisters?? Even if they have a date, do something nice for them. They may not have gotten anything for you but that’s not the point. The point is for you to love on the people around you. Who better than your family? Oh and trust me. It’ll come back to you.Don't let the social scene put you in panic or under pressure about what God is taking care of in your life. While it can be a wonderful thing to be in a relationship, its so much better to be in a relationship with the RIGHT person and if HE/SHE has not showed up yet, that's ok....you can do bad all by yourself. So enjoy the day...FULLY.

So there you go. From IJUSTMETME …Happy Valentine’s Day.