L. O. V. E.

     Do you know these people? She always shows up with a baked goodie when she comes over. He always gets called upon for help with home repairs. She has an infectious laugh that warms your heart. He has a way of putting his arm around your shoulder and calling you friend. These people are…

I want to be one of those people, someone Living Out Valentines Everyday… 

Each year about 1 billion Valentines Day cards are sent (2nd only to Christmas in card sales). That’s a lot of love circulating through the mail… Speaking of which…

A year ago on Valentines Day Paris Renae The Stories of Our Lives was launched with a sweet love story from yesteryear. Today, a brief story called: Lost Valentine…

Charlie was 19 in 1969. He and Carol had been dating for a little over six months. The first draft during the Vietnam War was broadcast on television for all to see – and Charlie’s number came up. The holidays were bittersweet as they spent as much time together as they could before he shipped out for bootcamp.

Carol clung to Charlie outside the bus station in the small town they lived in. She told him she would be waiting for him. He promised to write and told her to look for a Valentine from him. True to his word a beautiful valentine filled with loneliness arrived from Charlie right on time. The last line read, we will ship out for Vietnam immediately after bootcamp.

Carol never heard from Charlie again, he was listed Missing In Action in the spring of 1971. A year later Carol married and raised a family. Now a widow she spent most of her time volunteering at the local hospital and one particular nursing home where a lot of Vietnam vets resided.

Carol made a big deal of holidays for all those she visited making sure everyone got at least a card and candy cane at Christmas, a card and a chocolate on Valentines day, and so on. This year as she sat assembling her cards and chocolates for Valentines day, the doorbell rang…

     A mail carrier stood with a letter encased in plastic and explained that when an old mail facility on the other side of town was recently prepared for demolition a bundle of mail had been found and this one had been addressed to her. They had tracked her down through town hall records for the year 1971 and matched it to her married name. The carrier handed it to her “Is this you, ma’am?”

Carol recognized the handwriting on the envelope and shakily took the card. “Yes, it’s me. Thank you.” Closing the door she sat by the window in the waning sun. The stamped post date was February 7, 1971. The letter was a handmade Valentine.

“My dearest, Carol, forgive me for not writing all these many months. It’s all pretty depressing over here and I could never figure out what to write. But Valentine’s day gave me a happy topic. I have covered this in hearts and each one is a kiss and hug from me. They say I will be allowed to come home in March for a month. If you can forgive me and haven’t moved on, I will look for you at the bus station. Love xoxoxo Charlie”

Carol folded the letter – how many other Valentines never returned back home to those that loved them? Many that did often returned home to ridicule. More determined than ever, she decided each card should have two chocolates this year…

Thank you for allowing me to share each week with you. I would love to hear from you, you can email by clicking on Contact on the website…

If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME!   So glad you are here!  Click on the Living Braver link at the top, perhaps fear is an issue you would like to chat about…