Happy Comercially Exploited Love Celebration Day!

Along time ago there was a little girl who grew up in the 70's. She loved February because, in her opinion, one of the most creative holidays celebrated on the calendar fell on the 14th, Valentine's Day. On this holiday the little girl loved to let her rather active imagination go wild. Friends did not get store-bought greetings in tiny envelopes that are impossible to open without ripping. No! Her friends got red, white and purple hand-made masterpieces, each taking the patience of Job to construct.

Several years went by without anyone publically acknowledging the little girls creativity. Her parents knew her talent, and praised her openly for it. (Speaking of parents, to this day the little girl can't walk by a small box of heart shaped cheap chocolates that have the nasty white and pink cream fillings without shedding a few tears and breaking into a smile remembering the token of love they would buy for her and her sister, every year, without fail ... even into their adult years. There was always one good chocolate in the box, the one with the caramel filling, but the rest was junk. However, it didn't matter. It was a box of chocolates.) Every year, as she diligently designed her Valentines, her own satisfaction of a job well done was her reward. However, when she was in fifth grade, the spotlight showed brightly on her talent. The assignment: create an original mailbox, using only heart shapes, in which to receive your classmates Valentines greetings. She created an alligator mailbox ... all in heart shapes ... that was voted the best in class.

Fast forward 30 years ... and in case you didn't know who the little girl I am so fondly writing about ... it's ME! I still love this holiday! I've prepared and sneaked around all week planning the day for my family. They are gonna get loved on, in all heart shapes, all day!

Imagine my shock and horror this past Thursday, while sitting in German class, and my Lehrerin (teacher) begins to speak of Valentine's Day as a "commercially exploited love celebration day imported from the U.S. that has no meaning in the hearts of Austrians." It's true. It's an imported holiday, just like Halloween. Younger people are trying to get on the band wagon but it's a culturally meaningless holiday, only exploited in merchant's windows.

Now, I'm not that shallow ... my heart really isn't all that hurt because Austrians don't celebrate Valentine's Day. What I'm most hurt by ... hurt in my inner most part of my heart ... is the discussion that came next. As emotionless as if she were giving the ingredients to a recipe for schnitzel (a typical Viennese dish) she proceded to say the only holidays recognized in Austria are the holidays that Catholic Church prescribes as public holidays. Let me just list in bullet form the facts my late 50 year old Lehrerin gave during her monologue:

* Austria has the most Catholic holidays in all of Europe with the least amount of attenders to the Catholic Church.

* As a child, she went to the Catholic Church and even had her children baptized, but she no longer see's the value in attending - it's too political.

* She no longer wears a cross because it's too much of a political statement.

* The government has a contract with the Catholic Church ... no separation of church and state here. Employees are required to pay a tax to the church.

* Most Austrians have a bad taste in their mouths for the church, the Pope, and the "rules" of religion.

* People no longer get "engaged" to get married - that's a very old fashioned concept. In fact, marriage is really not a necessary step in a relationship. The only way you can tell if someone is in a relationship is by their Face Book status. It's the norm to just have a "partner" ... never marrying ... or having children.

* 90% of the public schools in Wien (Vienna) are filled with non-Austrian students, most of them coming from Muslim backgrounds, because the Viennese just aren't having children.

Need I say more? And, dear friends living in the U.S. ... this is not far the reality you may face sooner than later!

I am celebrating Valentine's Day ... in an overt prayer to my DAD asking for the hearts and minds of my countrymen in Austria to be opened to the love only He can give.