Love Valentine
Posted on February 7, 2020 by dragonspitapothecary
Valentine’s Day is exactly a week away. For me this is a special weekend coming up because not only is it Valentine’s Day next Friday but our wedding anniversary is the 15th and the Outlander Season 5 releases on Sunday. Triple love weekend!
This will be our 12th anniversary since we got married. In many ways it seems like it just happened and in others I know we have had a lot of adventures, both up and down, during these last 12 years. The week before we eloped 12 years ago I had a miscarriage. Our hearts were broken and so raw from that and yet we proceeded with making our arrangements to elope. Since it wasn’t either of our first marriages we decided to elope and make our wedding personal, private and just the two of us. We married in the little white chapel at the edge of town in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was actually the place my husband proposed to me over 14 years earlier.
It was pretty service. Simple, cozy and just us. I carried wild flowers and had a lace dress. He wore a suit and I made him a boutonniere with some of my flowers. The chapel gave us a small cake and did all the pictures and video. It was perfect.
We made our own Valentine’s Day that day. We put a good memory in front of a bad one. We made promises to one another that we have continued to hold up through thick and thin, illness and health, riches and lean times. When I look across the past 12 years I see so many wonderful memories and some hard times as well. Through it all we have been by each other’s side holding tight against the challenges and living up the good. Despite the past 3 years being challenging with his PTSD and not being able to work anymore he said to me the other day we are so blessed. I looked up from what I was doing and had to think about for a minute. Yes we are indeed blessed even when things are so piled up and overwhelming you can’t see it. He and I have been blessed despite these hard times and challenges life has given us.
As I think about love this month in all its forms and varieties I am drawn to thinking about blessings too. Love is itself a big blessing and something we can nurture and grow in our life every day. To me Valentine’s Day should be every day. We really don’t need a holiday to know we are loved, appreciated and blessed. We really don’t need to feel alone either if there isn’t someone special in our life right now. Our blessing in life is one of being able to generate, share, build on and expand love in ourselves and with others.
When we are connected with ourselves we feel confident, assured, focused and even energized by this flow that is pumping through our hearts and into our spirit. We move naturally in what feels good to us and things that once seemed challenging are small, easy steps. That love for ourselves is found by healing our hearts and spirits and letting that feed our mind and body. When people talk of a spiritual connection to a higher power this is what I think that manifests into. When we feel so totally aligned with our heart’s purpose we radiate inside out that’s when we know we are moving in the right direction and things will succeed. It is up to each of us to find that purpose by digging deeply and moving in the direction we are called for even when it feels awkward.