We Kissed Anyway (and it wasn’t Valentine’s Day)

I’m going to be honest with you (as I always am). This picture wasn’t taken on Valentine’s Day. I don’t know the exact day but this picture was taken in the hardest season (not exaggerating) our marriage has ever endured. I look back at it with wonder.

I wonder if we were faking it.

I wonder why we kissed.

I wonder why I asked our daughter to take the picture.

I wonder if we really meant it as an expression of our love.

I wonder what our 12-year-old daughter was thinking when she took the picture. Wait… I know what she was thinking and it was filled giggles and snarky remarks of us exposing her to some rated R action. haha! We joked with her about this only being PG.

This picture is a mixed bag for me. Sometimes I look at it and a tear falls out. There was so much pain for us in this season of life. But most of the time I look at it think that even if we were faking it, we kissed anyway. Even though I don’t know why, we kissed anyway. Even if we didn’t like or even love each other then, we kissed anyway. Maybe it wasn’t meant as an expression of romantic love. Maybe it was an act of covenant love.

Now that we’re thankfully on the other side of that painful season, I wonder if it was this kiss (among a few others) that helped us stay. I wonder if it was our commitment to keep doing what we knew to do that kept that last thread holding on. I wonder if it was our ignorant resolve (aka stubbornness) that afforded God the time to work out His perfect plan for our marriage. I don’t know much but what I do know is that it wasn’t Valentine’s Day. It was just another day and we kissed anyway.

Valentine’s Day is tricky for me. I’m not a huge fan. It’s a confusing day and all too often sets us up for disappointment and failure. Did we do all the Valentiney things with our kids growing up? Yes. The cards for classmates, everything red and pink and heart-shaped for food that day, and chocolate. Do I miss those days? Yes, sometimes. Did I send Valentine goodies to our grandson? Of course!!

I’m not against Valentine’s Day. The sentiment and history behind it are wonderful. I just think we should be careful to let it be a fun day and not one that we set our heartbeat to. Whatever happens today, or doesn’t happen, let today and every day be a reminder to love anyway, to hold hands anyway, to kiss anyway.

My prayer for you is that one day, like us, you will kiss because.

Love is a verb, not a day.