. . . Of Valentines and Boston Terriers
val·en·tine
Pronunciation: 'va-l&n-"tIn
Function: noun
1 : a sweetheart chosen or complimented on Saint Valentine's Day
2 a : a gift or greeting sent or given especially to a sweetheart on Saint Valentine's Day; especially : a greeting card sent on this day b : something (as a movie or piece of writing) expressing uncritical praise or affection.
Today is Valentine's Day. I'm not sure of the history of the day or who St. Valentine was or if there even is such a real, historical person. I do know that it's a silly day, though it's fun to participate in the silliness sometimes. I don't need Hallmark to tell me when to tell my wife I love her, but every now & then they come through to make it especially fun to tell her. So in seeking out a valentine to my Valentine, I found, officially, the perfect card.
The image in the upper right hand corner of this post is the outside of this perfect card that I found. To some, this image may be cute at best, weird at worst. But, for those who have known us since the beginning days of what has developed into, "David & Mindy," you know there has been a boston terrier involved from the beginning. Yes, the sad fact is that not all of you have gotten to meet my dog, the boston terrier known as Bostic. If the name sounds familiar to you, just think Auburn Tigers. 11-0. 1993. Running back. James Bostic. That's who I named my lil' Bostic after. Unfortunately, the call to ministry was a call to let my parents be his care-taker in Birmingham. It's another story, a long and sad one, but nonetheless, my parents have also gotten a boston terrier so now my Bostic gets to roam a 3 story house with a good friend all day long as opposed to living alone for 18hrs a day in Opelika.
On to the point. So my wife & me, we understand that if the whole world loved Jesus and had a boston terrier, then there would be world peace. Boston terriers are in fact proven to be direct descendents of cheribum. So, I found this card with the precious bt's on it & knew it would be pefect. Then on the inside, the card says, "I love that I get to love you. Happy Valentines Day." Simple, sweet, superb message that in one sentence expresses a truth in my heart. I cannot tell you what all I wrote, that's not blog material.
So I sneak this card into the house, write in it in the wee hours of the evening, and set it up on the breakfast table to greet my wife in the morning. I've done it, I've completed the perfect card! So (Mindy always is up before me) as I'm rousing for the day, my wife sweetly thanks me for the card, but as I come to see her in the kitchen, I notice the same oversized red envelope that I set up the night before still standing there. Wait a minute? She hasn't even read my stinking card!! But no...it has my name on it - & then it hit me - we secretly got each other the same exact card!!
What a joy it is to share a life with someone so intimately and so closely with such joy that you begin to fade into a single person, complete in each other, complete in Christ. What a blessing to know that my thoughts are her thoughts, that her desire for the nations is my desire for the nations, that my struggle against pride is also her struggle against pride, my longing for intimacy with the Father through His Son is her longing too. And sometimes, even my card is her card. We had a good laugh about the valentine and said, "we are soooo married."
I thank the good Lord, that my life is not my own - it is joint and shared with one who is part of me. I thank the Lord that my life is not my own, but that I was bought with a price, and the life I now live can be lived by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself for me (1 Cor 6:19-20 & Gal 2:20).
