#442 (2/14) - My Valentine’s Day Essay – "A Love That Will Never “Spoil the Taste of Peanut Butter”

URGENT CALL FOR CONTINUED PRAYER  (from the American Center for Law and Justice, - 2/6 ; "American Pastor Saeed (who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) continues to undergo mental torment – fed lies by Iranian prison guards. He's been cut off from speaking to his wife and children, and when his Iranian family visited him, he questioned if anyone was still working for his freedom.  His wife, Naghmeh, shared, "When I heard this from my husband, I cried. It broke my heart. Behind those walls he feels helpless and relies on us to be his voice. . . . Please help me make sure he is never forgotten."  With your CONTINUED PRAYERS, if you have not already, please join over 130,000 who have SIGNed THE PETITION for Pastor Saeed's release at http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-from-iranian-prison-sentence 

PRAY FOR THE GAP: This pro-life group of college students goes around the country displaying panels showing pictures of aborted babies on college campus free speech areas in order to bring awareness of the evil of abortion, stir discussion, and seek opportunities to share with others about Christ. They will be at Univ. of Cen. FLA 2/11-12 and Univ. of South FLA 2/13-14. You can find more information about them at CBRinfo.org and AbortionNO.org) Please pray for their efforts during this week.

DECLARE YOUR SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE. Please SIGN THE PETITION BELOW to declare your support for the traditional definition of marriage and in support of an amicus brief to go to the Supreme Court as it considers the redefinition of marriage on March 26th. Their decision on whether to uphold the Definition of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996 could be as piviotal to marriage in America as Roe v. Wade was to the definition of the sancity of human life in America. MOST IMPORTANTLY, please keep the upcoming Supreme Court review of this case and their final decision in your PRAYERS.
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 "A Love That Will Never “Spoil the Taste of Peanut Butter”

 - A Valentine's Day essay by Stan Yonashiro, Feb. 14, 2013 (Note: I've been wanting to write an essay like this for years but it wasn't until I came across an animated program last week that I suddenly had the inspiration to finally write what you will read below. - Stan)

 

“Nothing spoils the taste of peanut butter like unrequited love.”  - Charlie Brown

Last week,  I was looking for some fun TV distraction and decided to check out the Charlie Brown special on Valentine’s Day. I’d forgotten how Charlie Brown cartoons could me more thoughtful than just funny, such as l the classic one dealing with Christmas shown every year. The “plot” of the entire episode dealt with Charlie Brown hoping to get a Valentine’s Day card, esp. one from his “love interest,” the little red-haired girl. The episode ends with Charlie Brown failing to get the attention of the little girl and also not getting a single Valentine (except for a re-cycled one someone gives him out of pity).

The episode reminded me of how commercially Valentine’s Day focuses on romantic lovers and all the warm feelings that go with the occasion. It also reminded me of  the many who struggle with failed relationships – including the tens of millions who are divorced – along with those who are widowed, those suffering from unrequited love, and those never married. For us (as I am now of the latter group), the feeling of missing out on an occasion that is designed to make us happy is hard to resist. Even for we who are Christians, we are like that little girl who was hiding under her bed in the darkened bedroom. Her mother calls out, ‘But sweetie, even when it’s dark, you know that Jesus is with you.” To which the girl replies, “I know that, Mom, but there are times you just need somebody with skin on.” (I hope that you will remember this day to pray for and if possible reach out to those around you who probably struggle with lonliness, failed relationships, and unfulfilled desires for a lasting relationship. For those who hurt deeply, this day only emphasizes that hurt and that struggle.)

Of course, those not in some relationship on Valentine’s Day are not unaware that making relationships last requires hard work, especially those that involve great intimacy. Also, the wise ones realize that feelings are very fleeting and that true love requires a commitment of selflessness and being willing to give of oneself fully (and not just a 50/50 agreement), seeking not to be a consumer in the relationship (only wanting what w\ill make us happy) but a humble investor in doing whatever it takes to build up and make one’s partner happy. Finally, it’s also knowing that having a relationship is a calling from God (just as any other state in life we find ourselves is also a calling) and not a desire we have a right to insist that God fulfill. 

I will never forget when I was around 25 years old and attending a conference one summer. The speaker one morning ended his talk by asking each of to go before God and ask Him if there was an area of our life we still needed to surrender to Him. I clearly remember bowing my head and waiting on God and then almost literally hearing the Holy Spirit say, “Stan, are you willing to never get married?” It was as though I was hit by lightning. After a moment of reflection, I told God, “Lord, I cannot lie, but that is really hard. I'm really not willing to agree to that.” Now, more than 35 years later, God has still chosen not to fulfill that desire. I’m really not sure whether that prompting by the Spirit that day was a test or a prophetic word. But as I reflect back over my life, there are things that  I might not have seen God do in and through my life should He have called me to have been married rather than remain single. The desire has never been wrong but only as I have been willing to surrender it to God’s perfect will have I  avoided many feelings of disappointment and sadness. (Even then, one can still struggle with even Christian  movies or novels with a romantic storyline, as well of course with the romantic emphasis our culture/media surrounds Valentine's Day each year.)

 And while there’s nothing wrong with wanting to experience being loved by someone “with skin on,” no relationship will ever be as lasting or satisfying as what we receive through a relationship with the Lord Jesus. My Prayer: This Valentine’s Day, may each of us recommit ourselves to deepen our relationship with God by making our time in His Word and communing with Him in prayer THE priority in our lives that relationship requires. May we learn in that relationship to NOT be consumers who only want (and sometimes even demand) God to give us that which we think will make us happy rather than focusing on investing in the lives of others seeds of love that will bear eternal fruit and not just transient good feelings. And may each of us experience a growing intimacy in our relationship with God that will never “spoil the taste of peanut butter!"- In Jesus's name, Amen. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness..." - Jer. 31:3