Well, once again, we have been inundated with snow – this time just a foot!!! As I write this on Tuesday morning, the rectory is just beginning to recover from a night of no heat. Nine degrees outside and about ??? inside. Snow drifts covered the furnace vent in the middle of the night and the heat automatically shut down. All is cleared now but I have been wrapped in a quilt that was made by my grandmother and mother many years ago. I don’t use it very much because it is so warm…but I am grateful to them today for it!

The depth of snow has certainly slowed things down if not stopped them altogether. The slower pace helps us to appreciate our homes and all that we take for granted (like heat!!). Soon enough we’ll be back to normal but in the meantime let’s be grateful and thank God. Let’s also remember those who are homeless and who have to fight the cold and snow with little if any protection.

This coming week we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. It is also a day when we can stop and appreciate the love in our lives. St. Paul in his Letter to the Corinthians very specifically defines love as patient and kind, understanding and never jealous. His definition, however, is the ideal expression of love.

The love in our lives is much less perfect and often we err. That, however, does not lessen the value and importance of the way we love and are loved. What we celebrate on Valentine’s Day is how we uniquely experience love, with its up and downs, joys and struggles. We celebrate the consistency and the steadfastness of loving relationships which bring warmth and meaning to our lives.

Yes, God’s love is perfect and the ideal for us to strive for, but imperfect love is what most of us know and is worth celebrating.!