will you be my ValLent?

So the first full day of Lent this year
is Valentine’s Day.
I love that!

Why?
Let me count the ways ….

But mainly because, beyond apparent irony,
each emphasis offers an often needed balance to the other.
Each compensates in some way—to some degree
for a dimension the other can overlook or not emphasize.

So it is that Lent provides
a focus on an affirmation of
the depth of sacrifice integral to love
that Hallmark lacks and needs,
while Valentine’s, in turn, celebrates the love
that makes of sacrifice a joy.