Love Day 2011

This year I received a Valentine's Day card from a married man. (Great opening line?! I guess I should explain...)

Yesterday one of the churches in Poipet had a marriage seminar. A Cambodian guy talked to me over the weekend about whether he should go. He is married. However, he is separated from his wife and young daughter. I encouraged him that if he wanted to go to learn then he should attend the seminar. My friend would like to be married but he makes no secret of the reality that his marriage has fallen apart. He speaks openly about his feelings of rejection, pain and loneliness. Despite his best efforts, she left him. And on Valentine's Day he went to the marriage seminar by himself. One of the activities was to make a card for your husband or wife. My friend made one for me instead. I put it on the wall in the office to remind me that even if a marriage fails, love doesn't have to give up.

Yesterday one of our staff went home and noticed that her village was unusually quiet. She estimated that half of the families fled because people are worried about the ongoing border hostilities further North. Others in her village who stayed have packed their bags and are waiting. In another village, people spent Love Day building bunkers just in case. It was a similar story on Sunday. Football teams had to call on unregistered players because the guys with the regular uniforms just weren't there. Likewise, the numbers at English classes have been down.

What do we do? We stay. We don't pack up and give up. We keep loving. Even if half of the city runs, I will stay. We will speak a message to those who remain: God is here! God can be your safety, your protection and your security no matter what the circumstances. God wants to be your hope! In the midst of crisis talks and rumours of war, we declare love!

So while any cliche Love Day blog post might include a quote from 1 Corinthians 13, I'll write the words again because I believe them: Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.