By Maxine Nielsen of Lake Park
Feb. 14, celebrated each year as St. Valentine’s Day, is quickly approaching.
It’s the day we express our love for classmates, family, special friends, and spouses.
We can choose to express this love with valentines, flowers, candy, jewelry, a special date night, phone call - whew!
All cost money, and I think there’s more to love than that. So I looked up the dictionary definition and among many possible words I found these: Love implies intense fondness or deep devotion and may apply to various relationships or objects.
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Well, the gifts I mentioned earlier are directed toward people, right? And are given to express tender feelings and fondness, true, true. However, in our society we certainly do use the word love to express feelings toward things; examples: “I just love my new car.” “I just love watching the Vikings.” “Just love this pie.”
My definitiion would have to include another word, the word commitment. A much shorter definition than the one I found on love.
It says “a pledge or promise to do something” and “dedication to a long-term course of action.” Apply that to a marriage and take a look at the people in this picture. Bet you can’t guess what they have in common.
Yes, all are at the Holiday Inn here in Detroit Lakes. Yes, all are smiling (somewhat).
Here’s the answer I’m looking for: all have been married for over 50 years, some goin on 60 years! Obviously their’s is a deep commitment, and since they are friends of mine I have had a chance to observe fondness and devotion to one another as well as commitment.
Fifty years and more mean so much more than we can see, hear, or read about in the media today. Good marriages can, and will, survive as we concentrate on being help-mates to one another. That includes the aforementioned definitions, and I believe it is mentioned in the first book of the Bible, Genesis.
So I want to give a Valentine gift of encouragement to you readers, and to these friends as we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Thanks for living out fondness, devotion and commitment daily.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
