You don't bring me flowers anymore

OK, I admit it. I get moved to tears watching Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand on YouTube singing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." The words are so strong because they are often so true, "You don't say you need me. You don't sing me love songs. You don't bring me flowers anymore."

Today is Valentine's Day - a day we are supposed to be thinking about love and romance. But is this day of red roses, chocolate candy and Hallmark cards overrated?

After all, some wives would say they dated Jekyll but feel like they married Hyde! Some men would say that marriage is composed of three rings: the engagement ring, the wedding ring and suffering! Someone has said that in the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen! Does this thing called "love" sound like something worth giving it its own holiday?

True love is always worth celebrating. There is a couple I know in our community and the husband was dying. His wife stayed up with him most nights. Sometimes, she was able to go to the living room couch to catch a brief nap. From the bedroom, he would still call out, "Honey, are you there?" She would call back, "Honey, I'm right here." That deep love didn't develop at that moment in their lives. It happened over a lifetime of saying to each other in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times, "Honey, I'm right here."

That's love worth celebrating!

I know another man who wrote notes early each morning and placed them in his wife's lunch bag. Those "small" things made a "big" difference in the happiness and health of their marriage. That's love worth celebrating!

But may I ask you another question? Does Valentine's Day make you glad or sad? There are some people reading this article who are sad today. Maybe their valentine has passed on and as a widow or widower, they miss the love of their life ... especially today. Another person has gone through the pain of divorce and today is a reminder of what might have been ... but wasn't. I didn't get married until I was 27 years old. I know what it's like to experience Valentine's Day without a Juliet in my life. It's a lonely time. And you don't have to be Dr. Phil to know that some people are in a "You-don't- bring-me-flowers-anymore" marriage. Today, there will be no chocolates, no cards and no flowers.

What do you do if Valentine's Day is a sad day for you? The Bible says in Psalm 34:18: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

The message translation says this verse a little stronger: If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, He'll help you catch your breath.

Remember those colorful Valentine candy hearts that would have two or three words on them with some sweet saying? "Hug me." "I like you." "Be mine." If God had a Valentine candy heart to give you today, what would the message say? It might say, "You're not alone." It might say, "Trust Me." But I know for sure one message would say "I love you."

Today, if you have a valentine in your life - celebrate that love! Help stimulate the economy and take her out - after church. If today's a tough time for you - may I suggest talking to God? He's listening.

Even though the Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand song seems to imply a love that is no more - "you'd think I could learn how to tell you goodbye" - it actually doesn't say whether this heart-to-heart conversation was a break-up or a breakthrough. Maybe the husband and wife fell in love again ... but with each other.

Nothing is impossible with God - even on Valentine's Day.