Here’s the thing: I’m single. Always have been. I’ve been asked out twice – once when I was
21, once the day before I turned 28. I’ve
been on one blind date my older brother set up and that was a couple of years
ago. I’m 30 now and I’ve never been in
anything remotely resembling a romantic relationship. And you know what? I’m fine with that. I really am.
But all that means that Valentine’s Day has never had any particular
significance to me. I laughed about it
as a little girl when my Dad would sometimes get me a carnation and didn’t really
think about it through most of my teens and twenties – it was just another day.
This year though, this year was different. Chiefly, I think, because the majority of my
friends are married now. My Bible study
small group is mostly young marrieds, all of my co-workers with whom I interact
on a regular basis are married, half of my brothers are married,* people I have
thought of as mere children are married or engaged, and my roommate is dating a
solid guy. So yeah, a lot more
relationships around me than normal. On
Valentine’s Day, I came into work feeling somewhat wistful. Not sad, just a pale sort of longing for something
that wasn’t mine and wishing that someone thought of me as special enough to
recognize. I was cheered a bit when one
of my girlfriends sent me a cheery “Happy Valentine’s Day!” text with all the
roses and heart emoticons but the wistfulness remained.
Then it happened.
A long box brought in and set on my desk.
A flower box.
What?
For me?
Who would send me
flowers?
Why would anyone
send me flowers?
And I opened it.
There, inside, was a brightly colored bouquet of yellow,
pink, peach, and orange roses. And a
vase. And a note.
“Surprise!” it said. “’I
hope this makes your day a little brighter.
We love you!’ Taylor.”
My older brother who lives over eight hours away and has a
wife and three kids of his own had sent me flowers. Had taken the time to order flowers to have them arrive for me on Valentine’s Day. They are gorgeous:
See?!?!
I was showing them off to my co-workers, sending pictures to
my friends. BEST BROTHER EVER!
But that wasn’t the end of the day. Later, just after lunch, my youngest brother
texted with an oops-we’re-to-late-to-take-you-to-lunch-aren’t-we? invitation. My lunch hour was almost up so I had to
decline but I invited him and the other youngest brother over for supper. After a bout of silence at what I proposed
for supper he came back with:
“Would you mind if we made something more delicious if we
came over?”
And so my youngest two brothers (18 and 16 respectively)
came over that evening and made French Bread Pizza for supper. 16-year-old fried the bacon himself and did a
far better job of it than I have (I can cook a lot of things well but bacon isn’t
one of them).
And they brought me more roses.
See?!?!
It has been a long time since anyone got me flowers for
Valentine’s Day. And I know I’ve never
received two bouquets of roses!
AND my brothers
cleaned up the supper mess too.
BEST BROTHERS EVER
BEST VALENTINE’S DAY
EVER.
This Valentine’s Day has brought two things to my attention –
strongly enough that I am reviving this long-quiet blog to tell you about it –
First, God is good.
He knew what my weary heart needed and provided ahead of time. Yeah, Younger Brothers’ gifts were of that
day. Older brother? He had to plan that out in advance. Well in advance. And I was not expecting anything of the Younger
Brothers. I was surprised with supper
and thrilled that they brought flowers too.
I know God is good apart from His gifts. It is part of who He is. Integral to His
character. Even if nothing had happened
on February 14, I would have known this.
But sometimes, it is so nice to experience
God’s goodness. I have, and I will, “praise
Him in the storm” but let me not ever take His goodness for granted when the
skies are clear.
Second, I am exceedingly blessed with the men in my
life. No, I’ve never had a boyfriend but
when I live in a world where the women call their men “big children” and
comment on how ill-equipped they are to take care of themselves, I find myself
wondering what sort of men they have in their lives. My men, are awesome.
-
My dad may be about as emotive as rock on a
normal day (sorry, Dad) but he’s the one who’s first to start cleaning the
kitchen after Mom has been cooking. He’s
always serving, always willing to help.
He took my car and got me new tires on
his birthday. He’d take it in for
maintenance too if I asked him. And he’s
shown up to take care of my yard and other stuff too. I love him.😄
-
I already told you about my older brother – he was
my best friend growing up. We’re pretty
close in age so it isn’t that surprising.
While he’s not always patient with my much-slower thinking process, he
does try. And he thinks of the little
things that are really big things – like flowers on Valentine’s Day. 😊
-
My nearest younger brother and I don’t always
see eye-to-eye (he’s an extroverted, charismatic, people-person, I’m an
introverted, dramatic, bookworm – I’d be more surprised if we did see eye-to-eye on everything!) but
far be it from me to disparage him. He’s
a builder and a worker and makes some of the coolest things for his wife and
kiddos. I’m sure I tend to be as much of
a puzzle to him as he is to me yet he tries and doesn’t let that get in the way
of being my crazy little brother.😏
-
The middle brother has proven the best at
getting me to work through the emotions that I really don’t understand (I’m not
much better than my dad with emotional expression). He’s tenderhearted and merciful. But he doesn’t just comfort – he pulls you
back to the Son light. He does need to
work on his cooking – but his improv meals were better than mine. It’s been super sweet to watch him fall in
love with his now-fiancée and see him taking care of her.😃
-
Second youngest brother is growing into a dapper, silver-tongued fellow. He’s an excellent
cook and specializes in baking. And he’s
a determined organizer. I look forward
to working alongside him in the next year after he graduates. I can shift some of the marketing duties for
the events I help lead off on him and let him be the face while I stay in the
shadows I prefer.😋
-
Youngest brother is my cuddle-bug. No, really.
He’s always been the most tactile of us – when he was little, the minute
he finished eating he’d be crawling into someone’s lap. Now he just wraps his arms around me in a
giant hug. It is very comforting. And it is really nice that he’s not embarrassed
to hug his big sister in front of his friends.
And he and 18-year-old actually want
to hang out with me!😀
So, yeah. I’m
blessed. I may never have had a
boyfriend but my men are superb. I hope
that one day I get to add a husband and sons to this list of awesome men in my
life but even if I don’t, I know that these are the kind of guys who are
striving to, like King David of old, be “men after God’s own heart.”
May I be a woman who spurs them on to that goal.
*Of my five brothers – 2 are married, one is engaged, 2 are
most definitely single. So half are
married. 😛
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