SAD Bruises

Today is that special pink and red day known as Valentine's Day. Or to those who do not have dates to share the day with, it is SAD - or Singles Awareness Day. But just because it's Valentine's Day, does not mean it has to be sad (or SAD). Today was my eighteenth Valentine's Day, and it was the eighteenth one in a row I have not spent the day with a "special someone." Lest you think my day was miserable, think again.

Just to make that clear: I am single, and I had a fantastic Valentine's Day. Why? Hehe, I'll tell you.

First of all, I think it is ridiculous to only have one day of all 365 days (366 this year) of the year to love someone. Right? It is just plain silly. I love to love people ALL THE TIME! Love is a beautiful thing, why should we only restrain love to one day?

Secondly, romantic love is not the only type of love out there. That kind of love is, unfortunately, what people think of when they think of love. But love should not be limited to romance. I love my parents. I love my sister and brothers. I love my friends.

And it is exactly for these reasons that I had a great day. Some of my friends left valentines (complete with candy) by my dorm door, and I ate dinner with a group of lovely ladies. We chatted for a good hour, while enjoying the delectable offerings of the dining hall's rare feasts. We grabbed plates of the various yummy-looking desserts and passed them around the table, everyone sampling the delicious cakes and cheesecakes. But most of all, we were together.

So I had a great Valentine's Day. And the part of the title about bruises... hehe. I have a collection accumulating. I have about four (one on my hand, thigh, lower leg, and opposite knee) due to kayaking on Sunday. We went to a pool and practiced rolling, and I think the one on my hand was due to flipping people over when they couldn't roll back, and the one on my thigh was because one of the kayaks I got into was too small and pressed too hard on my leg. Aaand I have a fifth bruise on my knee from slipping at work. Hehe. So they are my sad little bruises, although SAD and bruises don't have much to do with each other. I suppose if I went kayaking on Valentine's Day...

That's all, for now I am very sleepy and have a quiz in Anatomy and Physiology tomorrow. Praying my CCC professor does not collect our journals either.

I shall write again at a later date! Farewell!

Finally!

Yes, my friends, it is true! I am an adult! I know this post will show up as February 1st, but I did start writing in January! :) (Okay, so I changed the settings so it would show as January, just because.)

January term is over, and Spring semester has begun. And with Spring semester, a required first-year class called Created and Called for Community. I've only had one class, but I think I'm going to like it. We had to write a "This I Believe" essay that is due tomorrow. I just finished writing it with the help of a previous blog post (yay for deep blog posts!). So, now, before I collapse on the couch in the Flounge (fake lounge), I shall post it for you all to see. It should look a little familiar, just spiced up a little bit. ;-)

This I believe

What is it about sacrifice that touches each of us to the soul? Whether it is someone taking the blame for something you did, or giving their life so you could live, it touches us. In a world that refuses to love simple, sweet beauty, why have we clung to sacrifice as such a beautiful thing? We see it if we look - a mother laboring to bring her child into the world because she cares about it far more than she cares about herself; a father crying out in intercession for his child because he would rather be in pain than see that young one go through it; a friend, a classmate, a comrade, who steps into our place to take the blame for something, or even to give up their life so we can live.

I believe that sacrifice is love.

Why else would sacrifice ring so deeply in each of us? Why else has pain not been eradicated? Oh yes, it hurts. It hurts from our fingertips and toes all the way down to our souls. But we see sacrifice throughout time.

We see Abraham crying as he lifts the knife over his beloved son, Isaac. We see Jephthah weeping when he realizes that, in order to satisfy a vow to the Lord, he must sacrifice his only daughter. We see a man – our Yeshua, our Jesus, our salvation – crying out in agony from the internal torment of the pains of the world being placed on him.

It is no wonder that we know sacrifice through our souls, for it has been planted within us. The seeds of sacrifice are there. It is love that makes those seeds grow. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13, NASB).

Once upon a time, a man loved his brother so much that when the enemy aimed his gun at him, the man stepped forward and said, "Take me instead." The brother cried out in defense of his friend, but the man gently told him, "I want you to live. Go to safety." Weeping, the brother ran into the safe zone and watched as the man bravely stood his ground before the enemy.
Some time later, the brother and his friend were in another battle when the friend was shot. The brother crawled forward, cradled his friend in his arms, and brought him back to safety. In the process, he was fatally shot. He waved off help, saying, "Help him first." In the end, the brother died, and the friend lived, but he, like the brother once upon a time, held that sacrifice close to his heart. And, if he has to choose, he will choose sacrifice.