Happy Candy Hearts and Chocolate Day!

Happy Valentine's Day.

The single silliest holiday on the books.

I must say, any excuse to give - or better yet, receive - chocolate makes my heart sing. And don't get me wrong, I am not bitter therefore "anti-Valentine's Day." But, it seems to me to be a holiday created by Hallmark.

But it also seemed the perfect day to wrap up my thoughts on marriage.

I wanted to draw it all together with a few final sentiments to share. I didn't desire to sound harsh earlier. And I also didn't desire to sound like love and marriage were not designed to bring joy. I simply wanted to take a moment to reflect on the purpose of marriage in the first place.

Marriage is a wonderful, God-designed, blessing. And the earthly love of our lives can bring joy and abounding happiness to our lives. I am grateful to God that He leads us to walk this road of life with others. That was the original design. We were created for relationship. I am presently blessed beyond words to have someone in my life who inspires and encourages me daily. This person, truth be stated, is the reason I am blogging. Never did I imagine myself a "blogger" or a writer. But, his encouragement inspired and motivated me to step out of my comfort zone and share my journey with others. This man believed in me when I didn't believe in myself anymore and for that I will eternally be grateful to God for bringing him into my life.

No one person is on this earth to complete another person. We are all searching. We are all longing for love and acceptance and genuine peace that comes when another delights in us and marvels in who we are at our core. What we are searching for is the heart of our Creator. And when we draw closer there, our relationships - with our spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, family, friends - are all blessed. Because we are drawing from the unending well of God's Love for us, we are able to pour out that love on others.

For those of you celebrating today with earthly love - God's blessings on your relationships. For those of you not, remember - the true Love of your life delights in you EVERY day. Today is no different for the Great Love.