How Single Girls Spend Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day. An entire day dedicated to love. It's everywhere: cards, flowers, candy, teddy bears, coffee mugs, hearts, pink (ugh, SO much pink!!!)... absolutely everywhere. Girls giggle in anticipation of the cute boy they're crushing on giving them a valentine. Couples walk hand-in-hand and share a romantic dinner together at a fancy restaurant. It's a day that wraps people in a warm, comforting glow.

Then, there are those who recognize this day by a different name: Singles Awareness Day. To them, the day is a time to remember relationships - and lack thereofs - and ponder their current state of singleness. The day can be especially hard for single women. However, we make our own traditions for Valentine's Day. Some of them include:

*Shopping: because we seriously need to spend time with our first love: shoes.

*Chick flicks: because for some reason, watching romantic movies are the perfect way to forget about being single.

*Comfort food: ice cream, pizza, Chinese food, lots and LOTS of chocolate = best I'm-single-and-depressed medicine ever.

*Wearing all black: just because we can.

*Tweeting: because he needs to know that you're listening to angry-girl music.

Yeah, we women are creative, to say the least!

My own Valentine's Day traditions are fairly simple. I like spending time with my girl friends. Whether we're hanging out at Starbucks, walking around the mall like "Oh, you SHOULDA put a ring on it!", or going out for dinner, we always have a blast. We just have a girls' night and enjoy each others' company. Who says you need a date to feel loved in Valentine's Day? My girls have been here for me through everything; we're like sisters. And, all of their encouragement makes me feel completely and totally loved.

Go out there and make your own Valentine's Day traditions. Even if you're single (like me), you still have people who love you: your family, friends, pets (because they're *totally* people)... they're all around you. Take the time to let ten know how much you appreciate and care about them. Just remember how much they love you, and then, there's no way you'll miss out on the warm glow of Valentine's Day.

This One's for the Girls (and Guys)!

A quote that I read by Taylor Swift the other day really stuck out to me. It said, "When I look at that person [who is right for me], I'm not even going to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 27 seconds when I was eighteen."

The media likes to claim that you're nobody if nobody loves you. Take risks, wear your heart on your sleeve, follow your heart, fall in and out of love, and pursue romance no matter what the cost. Love is a game. Books, songs, movies, tv shows... the message is everywhere.

But, I can't help but disagree. Love is something that should be taken seriously. The book that most accurately describes love is the Bible. One of my favorite passages declares the following:

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love never ends" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

How beautiful is that??? Love isn't about fulfilling your own needs; it's placing his or her needs above your own. It's selfless. Marriage was created to paint a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. Christ is the bridegroom, and he always protects, he's always patient and kind, and his love never ends. That being said, true love waits. Yes, I have one of the rings, and I'll only take it off to put on my wedding ring. I know many people who are astounded by my decision to wait, but for me, it's simple: if I love my future husband, I'll wait for him.

And, you know what? God has the right person set aside for you already. You have no idea how exciting that thought is to me. He or she will be beyond worth the wait. Like Taylor Swift said, when you're with "the one," you won't think of...

*The one who broke up with you during a phone call or through a text message.
*Someone who used you.
*A celebrity you've crushed on for ages but will (in all probability) never meet.
*The one that got away.
*The one who cheated on you.

None of that will matter because true love lasts. So, wait for the right one. And, while God's preparing he or she for you, prepare yourself.

Wait.

"To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

~ Traditional wedding vows