Praying for more chocolate…

I love the season around Valentine’s Day.  It gives me an easy time to let my wife and my daughters know how much I love them.  They are a gift of love from God to me and to others.  Plus, I also love chocolate, and this season brings the chocolate out.  One survey showed that consumers will purchase more than $448 million and 58 million pounds in chocolate during Valentine’s week. I am one of those consumers who usually buys it and I always end up buying some for myself.  Chocolates are a great gift and way to share your love.  They seem to say the right thing even when you can’t.

Thinking about Valentine’s Day makes me consider questions about my life. What message am I  saying to others around me?  Is my life saying the right things? Am I sharing the love that God has given me?  I think He gives us opportunities daily to share the love.  I don’t always do it, but I pray that I will be aware of those moments to share His love.  It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day or Christmas or any other holiday, God ordains those moments when we become like chocolate, a kind and satisfying gift.  A flavor and taste of life and goodness.  Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  This world sometimes seems like the opposite: bitter, cold, and without care.  I am so thankful that God blesses us with moments to be light, to be hope and to share the love of God.

This morning I was going to stop in to Starbucks for some tea and to do a little bit of reading.  God had other plans.  He wanted me to be there to talk with a lady who was struggling to find a job, just became a mother again to a grandson, and feels very overwhelmed by it all.  As I began to listen to her tell me her story, I realized God wanted me there to share His love and comfort.  It was only a few moments, but she began to weep as I explain that God wants to be her focus even in her struggles.  He wants to be her love and her passion for living.  He wants to be her hope…and I just so happened to be there to share the love, His love.

By the way…chocolate comes from the cacao tree that produces a fruit that hold the cocoa beans.  My prayer is that my life would produce fruit through the moments that God gives me to share the love.

Lord, I am praying for more chocolate.