HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I hope all who read this will have an enjoyable Valentine's Day. I wish I could give you an accurate history of the original St. Valentine who was martyred in ancient Rome for his Christian faith, but historians say there may have been as many as 14 martyrs during that era named Valentinus. Accounts get rather complicated as historians try to separate one Valentinus from another, as well as explain a little about the churches dedicated to them.

February 14 is set aside to honor St. Valentine, but the date of its first use is also unclear. Early believers "christianized" Lupercalia, a pagan fertility festival on February 15, established to honor Faunus, Roman god of agriculture, as well as Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. At some point February 14 became the date dedicated to Christian love and exchanging expressions of it.

The oldest known written valentine still in existence today is a poem written in 1415 by the Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. His greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of London's British Library. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois who became his wife. So began a practice still enjoyed today.

Carol came home from two weeks of inpatient physical therapy last week, and it is good to be back together again. Over the years we've learned our home is wherever we are together, whether being in Arizona, Iowa or Colorado, and whether staying in a house, motel or trailer. God gives His people a home, whether single or married, wherever they live in the love and providence He so generously gives.

"Home is where the heart is," we often say. Home for many of us is where we were born or lived our early life, but it can have changed so much it is no longer recognizable. Grown trees make the old house look smaller, and change or decay make it unfamiliar. Home ought to be wherever you are, where you enjoy the blessings of God and the love He gives that you cherish.

Psalm 68:6 says, "God places the lonely into families." I have always treasured that passage because it shows how He cares for us in such a practical manner. God's love is, I believe, very precious and helpful in the Christian family.

I have a special Valentine this year for Carol and I hope she enjoys it.