How it Ought to Be

How it Ought to Be

Full hands lead to contented hearts
Amazing what a box of chocolates can do
Possessing some power to view the world through rose-colored glasses
Supposedly professing one’s love so true
But is this how it ought to be?

Cupid’s arrow flying through the air
Piercing those with open hands and leaving them lovestruck
For one touch claims to change the world that previously existed
Leaving one in infatuation
But is this how it ought to be?

For empty hands lead to broken hearts
Stunning what a lack of admiration can bring
Leaving those left in the dust to wallow in their tears
Wondering if they will ever be chosen
This isn’t how it ought to be.

For empty hands lead to broken hearts
In desolation, despair, suffering
And it is there we fall at the feet
Of the One who went through what happens now
Leaving our hearts in the presence of the One who knows how to keep

For full hands lead to contented hearts
Beauty revealed, hope reinstated, the rose-colored glasses needed no more
Satisfied desires because of the One who so freely gives
Crown of glory restore, empty love needed no more
This is how it ought to be.


Ah Valentines Day. First of all, let me state that I don’t have any problem with the idea of Valentine’s day. I think it’s a fine idea with a good motive behind it. However, I do have a problem with what it has become. It’s almost kind of amusing to me in a way now. All of the commercialization is ridiculous, with every kind of product offered and carpet companies making advertisements with a tie to Valentine’s day. There are sales for Valentines Day, pizzas made in the shape of hearts, flowers, flowers, flowers, and more that I can’t possibly remember at this time because it’s simply EVERYWHERE!

I think a lot of the problem I have with it is the focus of Valentine’s Day and how it has become so skewed. Valentine’s Day is based on love; that’s really the only point of the day. Yet the kind of love that is celebrated on Valentine’s day makes me disgusted and frankly, kind of sad. How materialistic has society become? How blind are we to what love, in the way it was created, really is? It’s not about how many cards you get or how big your box of chocolates is or how blooming the roses are or how many carats are in that diamond necklace you receive. And still, love is not about what gifts you receive, especially not in the materialistic way.

I walk down my hall today and you see the ones who have a boyfriend or special someone, for they are beaming and dressed up waiting to go on the surprise adventure and be showered with gifts. On the contrary, you see the ones who don’t have a boyfriend or special someone, for they are dressed in sweats, eyes riddled with disappointment, shoulders and head hung low. They are not in expectation of anything, and they remind themselves of that fact simply by their state of being.

I have a severe problem with this. I hate the fact that girls base their entire sense of self worth on the fact of whether or not they have a boyfriend, and even more, I hate how that penetrates their hearts. All this world has to give is temporary and will never satisfy them and still they long for that, because it’s all they know of that will relieve the longing they feel to be loved. Girls’ hearts are so fragile and though we are created to be sensitive and will be, we as girls put ourselves out there and allow ourselves to be broken. The fault doesn’t come with what we don’t receive but rather our expectations are too high of this world, and they will never be met. This world will never give what the heart truly desires and we can’t search for it here. And as a result, days like Valentine’s Day only magnify this problem ever more.

I remember what it is like to be broken as a result of constantly seeking in this world what my heart truly desires. I remember that feeling and I remember how hollow it left me. I remember these because it was not too long ago for me…roughly five and a half years ago. But though these memories linger and remain vivid, I know they remain vivid because in their vividness, how much more I appreciate and realize the grace and love of the one I now hold so dear in my heart, my Precious Lord, my Heavenly Father. The brokenness that once riddled me, my heart, and my life no longer remains, for a beauty far greater than I could ever explain has been birthed in its place. And that is a love worth singing about…

Still this mission before me remains to allow myself to be a vessel to restore the hearts of the girls before me. Yes, some progress has been made, but it’s not an easy task, for hearts have been so broken and mishandled. It’s so bad to the point that I know some girls question whether anything good could ever come out of it, because it’s been that way for so long. They’ve never seen any different so why should they think any different? The hope is gone. Yet, by the grace of God, I know this doesn’t have to be and won’t be reality…for outside of my understanding He works and uses me in ways I don’t see. I do not boast about myself but I rather boast at what Christ has done in me. I know who He is and what He’s done in my life and I know the words I say, the attitude I have, and the way I act, people take notice of. And the reason why it is so different is because my hope is not here, not in the things of this world, but rather my Heavenly Father and He NEVER disappoints. It is this that allows me to smile and still find the joy in every day, even when things may not be going as desired, because I know the Lord and I know how good He is. I desire this so much for the girls around me, because He is so healing…incredibly healing. He really is the only one that can heal completely, and oh, when He does, how much beauty is revealed and bursts forth!

And lastly, on what love should really be…yes, I know it’s become somewhat cliché, but it still remains ever true; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. But expanding on that, I’ve come to believe that love is being willing to die to oneself in order for the good of the other. Love is not based on the emotions that we feel, for those prove to be fickle and unreliable, though not always bad. It is not that we can’t feel love, for I believe we do and it’s a gift from God that we can experience, but love is so much deeper than that. Love is serving one another, the offering of self-sacrifice. Imagine what this world would look like if people loved in this way…