No Valentine For Me 

By Lauri Lemke Thompson

“Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!” II Cor. 9:15 (RSV).

It was Valentine’s Day and someone in my office had brought gifts for all the gals. At least I thought she had.

As I walked past several desks that morning, I noticed each small package had a pink wrapping with curly ribbons. Some of my coworkers had already opened theirs and I could see lovely clear glass paperweights with a red heart design inside. I heard some thanking Rachel, one of our managers, as they expressed delight over the surprise. Many hugged her.

Then I arrived at my desk. No package. My heart skipped a beat. Nine of us women worked there, and Rachel had brought seven gifts, not eight. Did she think I would not notice that she had skipped me – or did she deliberately want me to notice and fully experience her disdain?  

I realized I wasn’t the most popular person in this office. The human resources manager seldom is. I also understood that Rachel and I had opposite personalities and had never clicked. But why intentionally slight me? I wondered if she had been the mean girl in school back in the second grade. Shades of Nellie Olsen from Little House on the Prairie?

Whatever her reason, it hurt. It must have or I wouldn’t be writing about it over two decades later. Thinking about the hearts in those paperweights symbolizing love contributed to my feeling so very unloved that day. 

When I was sharing this memory with a friend, she reminded me of a television special that had aired back in 2002 called “A Charlie Brown Valentine.” The little fellow had brought a briefcase to school to hold all the Valentines he hoped to receive. He received none – not even one. Rumor has it that after that special aired thousands of kids addressed Valentines to doleful Charlie even though of course he was fictional. His tear-jerking experience also led thousands of teachers to start requiring children to include everyone in their class on Valentine’s Day. I know we can’t protect kids forever, but I say “thank goodness for that!”

Seven years old or sixty-seven, we are all subject to the emotions that go with being excluded, and sometimes the embarrassment and loneliness of being left out is tough. All may be merrily chattering, and we feel ignored and skipped over. 

All I can say is that according to God’s Word I am always included. And so are you. His amazing love applies to all of us. If you choose to take steps toward a relationship with Him you can ensure a forever home with the God of forever love. “For God so loved the world,” we are told in John 3:16, “that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (RSV). 

In other words, in God’s office, everybody gets a gift.

A Wisconsin native, Lauri Lemke Thompson appreciates living in the lovely Ozark mountains in Branson, Missouri. She is active in Christian Women’s Connection (Stonecroft) and the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers. Her two books, Hitting Pause and Pressing Forward, are collections of her columns, articles and devotions. Her bimonthly column appears in the Branson Globe newspaper.