~ My Funny Valentine ~
February 25 - March 02, 2008

I have a sad, but true, confession to make. Here goes…I bought a dozen beautiful roses for my wife on Valentine’s Day, and didn’t notice until I got them home that they were plastic. There…I’ve said it. Now, if you can stop your giggling for a moment, I’ll tell you what happened. I have been living life at such a hectic pace recently, so hectic that I was in too much of a hurry on Valentine’s Day to get my customary dozen roses for Laurie. I went in the store and immediately saw this beautiful bouquet with the stems wrapped up at the bottom. I honestly thought to myself, “These roses are pristine…absolutely gorgeous. I will be seen as a hero.” Well, I got home and filled a nice vase with water and unwrapped the roses so that I could trim the bottom stems. As I pulled out the scissors to begin my trimming, I noticed how difficult they were to cut. It was at that instant that I had an “Aha!” moment. “Oh boy!” I said to myself. “I need to get back to the store.” And that’s exactly what I did. I hurriedly drove back to the store and went to the floral department and exchanged the plastic flowers for real ones, all the while telling the “chuckling” clerk, “I’ll bet I’ve given you a life-long story to remember.” “Yes sir, you have” she said. And with that, I rushed back to the house and quickly trimmed the stems on the “real” roses and placed them in a vase before Laurie made it home.

My funny Valentine’s Day incident only underscored for me what I already knew. When we get too busy…we do not see things clearly. When we are in a hurry to make decisions or want things on our own timetable, we will always end up with second best. God reminds us over and over again that when we slow down our lives, rest and focus on Him (as the 4th Commandment says) …then (and only then) we will be able to bless others.