Happy Valentine’s Day! Today we set aside time to celebrate love,usually romantice love, but it can be all kinds of love. One of the candies that always appears at this time of year are the little pink hearts with messages-very short messages-written on them. Things like"love you" or "kiss" or "be mine". As candy goes, in my opinion, it is a fairly useless candy-read, not chocolate. But for the purposes of sending messages it works. A few years ago a local playwright wrote a play around this candy called "Conversation Hearts". Since then that is how I’ve always thought of these sugary confections.

Last week I saw that there are now conversation hearts that have not-so-lovely messages. Sentiments like"u stink" or "get lost". Not very helpful messages, not very loving messages, certainly not messages I would like to receive, no matter how humorous they might seem.

We send "conversation hearts" every day, 365 days a year. They are just not always printed on tiny pink hearts. In the ways we greet our co-workers, the way we say good morning to our family members, in the way we speak to the telemarketer that calls at 6:00 p.m. sharp, just as we sit down for dinner, we send conversation hearts. With each of these interactions we can convey messages of love and kindness or messages of dismissal and indifference.

We celebrate love this day. As people of faith, we worship the One who is Love. So, on this February 14th, may we claim this God of love in all we do, in all we say, in all we communicate, to those we meet, friend or stranger. May the conversation hearts we pass on be ones we would also like to receive from God….."luv u", "be mine", "always","forever".