"No one is you and that is your superpower." ~ Unknown It is something I will always remember. In she came proud as a peacock, in clunky high heeled shoes way too big for her tiny little feet clickety clacking across the tiled classroom floor. Grinning from ear to ear, she eagerly announced “Mrs. R. I have brought you a birthday present today, and I want everyone here to know I spent TONS of money on it!” I couldn’t help but smile as the first thing that caught my eye was the beat-up Christmas bag was filled with a purple balloon already blown up. Underneath were other interesting treasures that included a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy, a plastic flower, and some shiny bracelets of various sizes. She could hardly contain her excitement, and it was clearly evident. Her kind gesture really touched me. She was beaming as I thanked her repeatedly for her thoughtfulness, and her classmates watched with interest. Later, that morning as others scurried off to recess, she curiously lingered behind looking quite sheepish. She then proceeded to ask if she could speak to me “privately.” As we chatted, a confession poured out like water overflowing from a tiny cup. Teary eyed she shared, “I must be honest with you. I didn’t spend a ton of money on your gift I, well I…. found all this stuff in my room and I am so sorry. I just wanted so badly to give you something.” Our eyes met and hearts connected. I really felt for her. Her generosity reflected truly the best she had. I thanked her for her honesty and assured her that I found her gift very meaningful. It was truly the best she had and was given with such love. It was so obvious she gave her best, and had even dressed up for the occasion to show up as her best self for someone she dearly loved. Next I recall another little boy I had in Room 21 one year. Whenever he was faced with a challenge in class, he was known to always say “I will try my best.” He clearly lived up to that motto, as no matter what came his way at school, following that premise, day after day he consistently gave his all. In doing that, he was very successful. He clearly gave his best day after day, and the results came. Giving our best and being our best means different things for different people. The smallest gesture can have the greatest impact, especially when we know that there has been a sacrifice involved. Recently we celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Day. There is a great book by Emily Pearson called Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed that I love to read to my class. In the book the "extraordinary deed" that Mary did was placing a bowl of fresh blueberries on her neighbour's porch. Not very extraordinary, but it was the best Mary had and she wanted to bless her neighbour. The extraordinary part of the story is this loving gesture then launched a chain of events where her neighbour made blueberry muffins for her friends and then they did kind deeds for their friends. It went on and on. The little deed launched a momentous chain of kindness that created a very positive impact on so many in the end. It truly showed how the smallest deed can have a very big impact at times. Sometimes it is more than we could even imagine. Being our best selves can start by simply being kind to others. People may wonder: how do we keep striving for personal growth day after day when life is just plain hard at times? I have some helpful suggestions to share with you. Limit screen timeWe need to make a commitment to strive to give our best to each other. One way we can do this is by limiting our screen time. Almost everyone has cell phones these days, but life goes on beyond the tiny screen. I am trying to be more mindful of this and more emotionally present for my family and friends. Facebook and Instagram can’t hold a candle to honest and meaningful conversation with those you love, trust me. Giving others our undivided attention and quality time is certainly indicative of being our best selves. Accept your limitationsAs we strive to be the best we can be, it means accepting our limitations and learning to be content with what life brings our way. It is easy to get discouraged when things aren’t going according to schedule, or things are not going as we planned. During those times, we must remind ourselves that doing our best each day, and striving to be our best self is all anyone can ask of us. It is our responsibility to keep pressing on, knowing that life brings ups and downs, but we can overcome them one day at a time. Share encouragementTo work towards being our best, involves offering others hope and encouragement and sharing our insights on the life lessons we have learned. Helping others brings out the best in all of us, as it helps us shift our focus to someone else. We grow and change in a positive way, when we help others. Learn from mistakesHaving a goal of being the best versions of ourselves means we must learn from our mistakes. I once had a boss who would always say “You made a mistake. Great! Let’s celebrate it! There is so much to be learned here!” I have never forgotten that perspective and do believe it does make sense and has helped me through some tough times. Becoming our best self is a process and does not happen overnight. Take care of yourselfBeing our best means taking time for proper self-care. We are useless if we are used up. Working ourselves to the point of exhaustion will never get us to where we want to go. Rest, book a massage or pedicure. Read, watch movies, exercise or catch up with friends. Do what feeds your soul. It feels great to indulge a bit and recharge our batteries. We have people depending on us which includes family, and friends and in my case, even a sweet group of little people at work. Offering others our best self is impossible if we are empty. So fill your cup, whatever that looks for you. Invite God’s strength into your lifeFinally, striving to be our best self each day means realizing that we do not have to do it alone. We can choose to have God empower us to reach our true potentials each day. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The Bible also talks about that when we are weak, He is strong. That is so reassuring to know that we can choose to include God in our daily lives, and He will work to truly bring out the best in us for others. Giving our best, striving to be the best we can be daily is not always easy, but one day at a time it truly can be done. We are only human, and we will all have ups and downs, but knowing that each new day that comes brings us a fresh start is very reassuring. Keep on doing your best each day. As they say, life is a marathon, not a sprint. We are all works in progress. I believe in you! Until next time, Dana Philippians 4:13 ~ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Little Lesson Learned: Becoming our best self is a process. You are allowed to be a masterpiece and work in progress simultaneously. Remember that.
Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana, revised edition, First edition, © 2015 entitled: Giving Our Best (Dana Romualdi) Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved. Tags: self improvement, growth mindset, work in progress, best self, self improvement tips
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“Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom In we came, dressed in our Sunday best, rocking it out and singing to the very best of our ability the hit song of the day, I’m Forgiven by Christian recording artists, The Imperials. Our group, a youth choir, was called The Soul Survivors and to say that we thought we were “all that” was certainly an understatement. Were we the best singers? Certainly not, but what our group lacked in talent, we sure made up for in confidence and enthusiasm! We even had a “back-up tape” which was a true novelty back then of this latest Christian hit, and we were ready to share the good news! I actually saw the Imperials twice in concert and it was truly memorable and meaningful. I have included I’m Forgiven at the end of this blog for your listening pleasure. Perhaps it will take some of you down memory lane like it did for me. So, I’m Forgiven! What a powerful song title. What a powerful concept. This week in our class Morning Meeting, we discussed the topic of forgiveness. I love these teachable moments, when I can impart some nugget of wisdom to my students on ways to improve their lives using practical tools that will empower them. As our discussion progressed, members of the class were divided on how forgiveness should and should not work. One friend thought in a mutually hurtful situation, that if you forgive someone who has hurt you, then he or she MUST forgive you too because that just wouldn’t be “fair.” As I was gearing up to respond, another very wise little friend said “Guys, you don’t GIVE forgiveness to GET forgiveness, you give forgiveness for your own PEACE. “I couldn’t have said it better myself, and had me thinking, "Are you eight years old or twenty-eight years old, because your mature response just blew me away!" Key Number One: Forgiving OthersPiggybacking on what he said, I shared with them an effective illustration that I have used in my addictions therapy groups I used to lead as a clinicial social worker. I called it the handcuffs illustration and it is a powerful little skit I would act out to explain what happens to you when you refuse to forgive someone. I explained with the help of a sweet volunteer that if I refused to forgive her it was like her, and I were handcuffed together 24/7. In the past, I had a pair of Dollar store handcuffs from the Halloween display to improve this illustration, but the kids seemed to get what I was trying to say regardless. I explained that she may not even know I am upset with her, yet we go everywhere together because my bitterness and refusal to forgive keeps me chained to her. The only way to separate us is to use the key called forgiveness and break that toxic bond between us. Whether that person deserves it or not, by doing that, we are liberated, and we have given ourselves the gift of freedom. The fact that forgiving someone is extremely difficult or seemingly impossible at times is certainly not lost on me. Some of us have experienced heart-breaking scenarios and severe mistreatment at the hands of others and I am in no way minimizing your pain. Forgiveness takes time and readiness and can be a very complicated process. I recall watching an episode of the Dr. Phil show where the featured guest was detailing years of terrible abuse at the hands of her parents and emphasized how she could not and would not ever forgive them. Dr. Phil then asked “So where are your parents now?" “She quickly replied “They are both deceased.” Dr. Phil, then said something I will never forget. He said “So they are both gone, and you are STILL refusing to forgive them? Truth be told, you are not hurting them; you are only hurting YOURSELF 100%. You gave them your past. How much more of your present life are you going to allow them to have?” Wow! It was like an "Ah-ha" moment for her, yet she still said amongst her tears, “But Dr. Phil, You don't understand! They don’t deserve my forgiveness!” Dr. Phil replied “You are right. They don’t. I agree, but YOU need to do this to move forward.” So true. (Ephesians 4:32 ESV : Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.) Key Number Two: Forgiving YourselfSometimes the one we need to forgive is ourselves. We can be so hard on ourselves when we make a mistake. We can truly be our worst enemy. I remember a client sharing with me that if I really knew all she had done, there would be no way I would even spend another minute with her. She was in her words “despicable, unforgiveable, and beyond hope.” She even said "I know that God could forgive you, but He could never forgive me. I am too far gone.” Her self description broke my heart. There is NOONE who is despicable, unforgiveable and beyond hope, but she couldn't see it. As I probed a bit further and encouraged her to tell her story, her tears freely flowed as she shared about years of abuse, addiction and a criminal past. She kept looking at the door, expecting me to open it and send her off, but instead I stayed glued to her every word. She was literally stunned! I shared that there is nothing that she could do that is unforgiveable in God’s eyes. He offers His forgiveness to all. It was a lot for her to process, and things took time, but a beautiful journey of self-forgiveness and eventually God’s forgiveness was set in motion that day. Key Number Three: Experiencing God's ForgivenessMy Grampa Sudds (my Mom's dad), used to say there are only two kinds of people in this world: sinners and sinners saved by grace. I couldn’t agree more. In the beginning we are the same. We are all born in sin, and we are ALL sinners. We all also have free will. The only thing that truly sets us apart from one another in the end, is that some of us have accepted God’s free gift of salvation which gives us complete forgiveness. Due to this, we are now enjoying a life free of guilt and shame and we can live free from condemnation every day. It is not about being a good person, trying to do enough good things on earth while we are here, or memorizing Bible verses that will get you on the receiving end of God’s grace. It is instead simply by asking for forgiveness and having a desire to make Him the Lord of your life. The Bible says that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, not when we had tried to clean ourselves up, or committed enough good deeds. His love for us is unconditional. He welcomes us as-is, and that is such a refreshing concept to embrace. (Romans 5: 8-9) Accepting and giving forgiveness can be easy or extremely difficult and complicated for us, depending on the unique circumstances of each scenario. I understand that. I trust that this blog has at least given you something to think about. I know it has given me reminders for sure about this important topic of forgiveness. As always, I welcome an opportunity to continue this conversation with you if you are interested in learning more about embracing forgiveness in your life. I can be reached at dana.romualdi@gmail.com. Until next time, Dana 1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Little Lesson Learned: Refusing to forgive ourselves, others or accept God's forgiveness keeps us in chains. You deserve and need your freedom. Please remember that. To learn more about God's forgiveness and what He thinks about you click here. Tags: spirtual guidance, God's forgiveness, 3 keys to the freedom of forgiveness, Christian blog, Christian blogger, life advice, walking in freedom, forgive yourself, forgive others
Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana
(Dana Romualdi) Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved. Photo by cottonbro studio “Friends who become family create a sense of home wherever we go. They are the constants in our ever- changing lives. (Unknown) What would we do without friends? Some friends in our lives we consider to be acquaintances. They could be neighbours, colleagues, school friends or perhaps friends from your past. These people are important to us, but we do not often know them on a deeper level. Then there are those very special, exceptional people in our lives who go way beyond our definition of friendship. They change our lives in such profound ways that they have become our “chosen family.” These chosen few are the brothers from another mother, sisters from another mister, kindred spirit type of friends. Do you have some of those? I hope so. If you have some of those friends, consider yourself very lucky. These fine people are there for us through it all. When times get tough, they don’t walk out. Instead, they walk in, grab the Kleenex, hug us tightly, put the coffee on, and settle in for a good, long visit. These friends make an imprint on our hearts, and in our hearts is forever where they will stay. Last year, I had a grade change at work. Normally, I teach second or third grade, but that year I was asked to take a 4/5 split class. It was a very rewarding experience for me and a great chance to grow as a teacher, teaching in the junior division. Every day we do Poetry Book time in Language Arts. Sometimes we have seasonal or funny poems and sometimes we have songs that we learn and study. At the beginning of the year, I introduced a song called Chosen Family sung by The One Voice Children’s Choir. I am totally obsessed with this group and love all their material but, this song is on a whole new level. My class quickly fell in love with this song, as did I and it just naturally became affectionately known as our class theme song. The song helped us bond as a class and reminded us that at school we are a class family, and we should always strive to act like one. This year, I thought I would introduce the song once again and much to my delight it was once again a HUGE hit! The kids ask to sing it constantly and every time I am away, and a supply teacher comes in, I have them sing it for the supply teacher. It is very touching and hard to keep a dry eye I tell you when they put their hands on their hearts and sing about being “chosen family.” Witnessing the sincere and heartfelt performance of this song is and will continue to be one of my most powerful moments as an elementary teacher. Our family is blessed to have several people who fall into the “chosen family” category. One such person for me is my dear friend, Joni. Joni and I had been acquaintances for quite a while, but God brought us together to be so much more to each other through a special project. I had written my first book called Magic Kisses. It is a book about a young girl named Molly who finds hope and healing after dealing with the loss of her father. The manuscript sat on my computer for many years, as I was confused about how to bring it to life with pictures. I had long been an admirer of Joni’s beautiful photography skills, so I approached Joni to ask if she might consider taking photographs of a beautiful family who agreed to act as the characters in the book. Joni accepted with enthusiasm, and immediately became as passionate about my book as I was. Since the publishing of Magic Kisses, Joni has become my confidant, prayer partner, and dear friend that I can call on day or night for support. She knows me so well that she can tell by the mere sound of my voice, from the first greeting, how I am feeling. With open arms, she invites me into safe conversations where I can be myself and truly share my heart. I will be forever grateful that our initial collaboration blossomed into such an amazing and lasting friendship. Joni is just one example of chosen family I have been blessed with. I am very involved in my incredible church, LakePoint Family Church and many church members there are my "chosen family" as well. No matter what I am dealing with, I can request to get the prayer chain going and know that they are sending support and prayers up for me immediately. They truly have my best interests at heart, and I am so extremely blessed to be a part of such a loving and compassionate church. I feel so happy and proud to have them in my corner. Often, I reflect on how amazing it is to have not only a wonderful family of my own, but so many dear friends as well. My heart is truly so full. But what about those who don’t have that? What about those who don’t have ANY friends and feel they are alone? One such person like that, we will call “Jim.” Jim was in a 12-step therapy group I was running in my role as a clinical social worker before I was a teacher. Jim would often share his extreme loneliness and hurt from his past and share how much our group had come to mean to him. One especially painful memory he shared was he had never had a birthday party growing up. Not because his parents couldn’t afford one, but because he was told from day one, he was a “mistake and not worth celebrating.” For this reason, he was dreading his upcoming birthday because of all the past hurts that went along with so many unacknowledged birthdays. It still brings a tear to my eye just recalling this story. One day, when Jim was unable to come to the group, we discussed what he shared. As he had said, his birthday was coming up soon, we decided that we would throw him a little surprise party complete with gifts and cake. We were giddy with excitement knowing what this little gesture would mean to him. Imagine his shock when he walked in and realized HE was being celebrated and this party was for HIM! Jim was speechless, emotional and thrilled with his first birthday party ever at 35 years of age. What an honour to be at that party and to be a small part of bringing healing to Jim’s broken heart. One of my favourite worship choruses is Jireh by Maverick City Music. I love the line that says, “I’m already loved, I’m already chosen.” If you did not realize, we are all invited to be a part of God’s chosen family! Why He cared enough to call us His "chosen family" astounds me every day, but I am so glad He does. God is our heavenly father and trusted friend. He can be the BFF you never had. He can fill a void and provide a level of friendship that no earthly friend could ever fulfill. I appreciate you all so much and I am so grateful to have a chance to remind you of how incredible you are! I trust that my thoughts resonate with you, and you come away knowing that you are truly an incredibly loved and valued person. As always, I welcome an opportunity to continue this conversation, or pray with you! You know where to find me! Until next time, Dana Ephesians 1:4 ~ I am chosen. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. Little Lessons Learned: If you find a great friend, you have hit the jackpot! Tags: chosen family, family, friend, friendship, Christian blog, Christian blogger, definition of chosen family, spiritual guidance
Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana
(Dana Romualdi) Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Yan Krukau “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge” Charles H. Spurgeon Our morning meetings in my elementary classroom have become a true highlight of my day. These meetings are a great way to get to know each other better and focus on bonding as a class. One of the favourite components of our Morning Meeting is our “Fun Fact” section that shares some little-known bits of trivia from this great big world of ours. Under the topic of fun facts, there have been some really cool and unique things mentioned. Here are a few, all courtesy of BBC Science Focus Magazine. Did you know that the average lifespan of a monarch butterfly is sadly 2 – 6 weeks? Are you aware that identical twins do not have the same fingerprints? How about this one... Giraffes are 30 times more likely to be hit by lightning than people. Don’t you feel so much smarter now knowing this random information? Perhaps not! Whether you knew these things or not, does not really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Photo by Magda Ehlers In our Animal unit study one year we were talking about the diets of animals, and I was introducing the vocabulary of herbivore, carnivore and omnivore. I had picked up a card game at the dollar star where you had to name what type of eater each animal was. Some were clearly easier than others. I told the students the game was tricky, and as we were just introducing this topic to just have fun with it. Well... one little guy was NOT having it. He CLEARLY did NOT think it was all in good fun. He was in it to WIN it! When his teammate was asked what type of eater a water buffalo was, and the friend unfortunately got it wrong, he replied in pure frustration “Come on! A water buffalo is a herbivore! EVERYBODY KNOW DAT!” Finding it hard to keep a straight face at his comical reply, I said “Actually everyone does not know that because I certainly did not! Life is like that sometimes. We assume people should know certain things. We can get angry when they don’t know what we expect them to know. Surprisingly, what seems common knowledge to us, could actually be brand-new, mind-blowing information to someone else. Shocking I know, but true. We could go our whole lives not needing to know that the town with the longest name ever is named Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, (true story) but there are certain things that people absolutely do need to know. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko Amongst those NEED-TO-KNOW things is you need to know what the almighty God of the universe thinks about you. Not everyone is familiar with the Bible and I completely respect that. I am very proud and honoured to share what the Bible says about you. In the Bible God says so much about us, but I will highlight five things in particular. You are not alone.The Bible speaks of Jesus as the "friend that sticks closer than a brother." It also states that He will never leave us or forsake us. It is so reassuring to know that when you put your trust in Him, He will never leave you high and dry. You never have to worry where He went when the times get tough, because as always, He is right by you side 24/7. *(Proverbs 18:24, Deuteronomy 31:8) * You are always on God’s mind.This one blows me away! The God of the universe is thinking of ME? With everything that He is in charge of each and every day, we are still never absent from His thoughts. Now that is a powerful truth for sure! * (Psalms 139 – 17-18) * You are God’s Masterpiece created with a unique purpose.I remember a pastor saying once in a wonderful sermon, that your purpose came first, and then God created you specifically to fulfill it! It really resonated with me especially on the days that I felt like a complete failure. We are all a work in progress and it is never the case that God is thinking, so what am I going to do with this one? It is the exact opposite actually. He believes in us implicitly and is confident that we can fulfill our unique destiny in Christ. * (Ephesians 2:10) * Every second He loves you.God's love is unconditional. He could never love you any more or any less than He does right now. You can rest in that assurance that you will not fall from grace with God. He loves you period. Drop the mic! * (Jeremiah 31: 3) * Photo by Cherith Runyon on Unsplash You are Forgiven and Free!You are forgiven and free! All you have to do is ask God to forgive your sins. Every sin that we have or ever will commit was covered when Jesus went to the cross for us. Also the Bible tells us that not only does He forgive us, but He also throws our sins into the sea of His forgetfulness. Beyond that, my sweet Mom would always say this cute and true ending to this beautiful forgiveness story. She would say and "THEN He posts a NO FISHING sign" to keep us moving in the RIGHT direction! * ( Jeremiah 31:34, Micah 7:19) * Well my friends, I don't know if this is new information for you, or simply a great reminder. My question for you now though is, now that you know these beautiful truths and you do know "dat" what will you do with it? As always, I welcome an opportunity to pray with you or continue this important conversation. I can be reached at dana.romualdi@gmail.com. Until next time, Dana Little Lesson Learned: You need to know that God thinks you are incredibly special and you are so dearly loved. Tags: trivia, Bible teaching, self esteem, Bible verses, Who we are in Christ, Christian blogger, Christian blogger, elementary teaching, forgiveness, God's love
Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana
(Dana Romualdi) Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash “At the end of the day, we want love and to feel love.” John Bellion Valentine’s Day. It is the holiday that comes every February 14th, whether we like it or not. For some of us, it is a celebratory day where we are reminded of the love that we are privileged to experience daily and for others, well... it just plain stings. This day hits hard as it reinforces the longing of our hearts to find that special kind of love you seem to only hear about in epic love stories and romantic movies. Years ago, when I was “super single” as they say these days, I was once again gearing up for my traditional lonely, and broken-hearted Valentine’s Day. This year though, a very peculiar thing happened. My doorbell rang two weeks before Valentine’s Day and a young delivery man stood there with a HUGE, gorgeous bouquet of red roses for ME! Confused, yet very excited, I couldn’t wait to see who they were from! The card simply said “Happy Valentine’s Day, Dana!” At the time, I didn’t know what to think of this, but I was intrigued that SOMEONE was at least thinking of me at this time of year. My curiosity got the better of me and I called the florist who had sent them to inquire about who the mystery sender was. They firmly replied that the sender gave explicit instructions and wished to remain anonymous. Fast forward to the next week. My doorbell rang and here once again from a different florist came an even lovelier bouquet of roses. "Ok, buddy," I thought, "Now you really have my attention." My heart was pounding, yet much to my dismay the unsigned card said yet again, the same thing: “Happy Valentine’s Day, Dana!” As this was from a different florist, I called to inquire about the sender once again, and had the exact. same. response. My man of mystery was indeed a SECRET admirer and certainly wished to keep it that way. One week later my doorbell rings, again. It is now Valentine’s Day! Who should be at my door you might ask? Yes, you guessed it, another delivery person with the BIGGEST bouquet of roses known to man! I thought THIS IS IT! THE BIG REVEAL! I thought it was Valentine’s Day after all. It was again of course, from a different florist. I was experiencing such a mixed bag of emotions. I felt flattered, excited, confused and truth be told a bit creeped out. But now I felt that would all be behind me when I read this card. I just knew my mystery man would be revealed and I could not wait. With trembling hands, I open the UNSIGNED card which once again read “Happy Valentine’s Day, Dana.” I called the new florist expressing my extreme frustration, yet the sympathetic florist as per usual, had no news to share about my secretive, potential suitor. My silent Casanova NEVER materialized. To this day, I have no idea who he was. Some have said it was my husband Phil, yet that was quite impossible because we had not met yet. I found it odd and incredibly frustrating that this man would go to so much trouble, and spend so much money, yet never reveal himself! I was lonely and broken hearted once again on Valentine’s Day, and despite three beautiful bouquets of long stem red roses, there was STILL no love connection for me. My husband Phil and I have been married over thirty years. Many have asked how we met. It is quite a funny, little story, how our unique love connection came to be. I needed a summer job and was asked to be his mom’s housekeeper. It is a job I didn’t really want, but God had it all planned out. As I was vaccuuming one day, in walked the sweetest guy I have ever met. He had come home during his lunch hour and asked if I would like to visit with him. We clicked right away and before you know it, I walked away that summer with a lot more than some money to put towards university, but my future husband as well! Who would have known? Not me, that is for sure. You see, life has a way of surprising us sometimes. I thought my epic love story was coming through three bouquets of roses, that had a Prince Charming waiting there for me at the end. Instead, I found my love connection while, scrubbing toilets and mopping floors right next to who God had handpicked to be my future mother-in-law. No matter what we are looking for, it often takes time to find it. We live in a society where we are so used to getting everything we want right away. The Bible says that God knows the desires of our hearts and He is always working behind the scenes to meet our needs. There is a time for everything, and Valentine’s Day is truly about so much more than romantic love. It is also a celebration of ALL the people we love, like family and special friends. Giving Valentine cards is a big deal in my classroom. It is always exciting to see the excitement that the kids feel giving and receiving them. I once received a love note from an ESL student that said in her limited English, I love you Big, Big, Big! It really spoke to me because I thought “Isn’t that just like our God?” He too loves us Big, Big, Big! He is truly crazy about us and loved us so much that He died for us on the cross WHILE we were yet sinners. Please know that whatever your heart is wishing for today whether it be regarding Valentine's Day or life in general, if it has not come to fruition, this does not mean that God does not love you or you are forgotten. The Bible says in Isaiah 49:16, I have written your name on the palm of my hand. That sounds like a big, big love to me! Please know that not only does God love you bigtime, but I do too. I am so honoured that you have come to my little corner of the internet and spent some time with me. As always, I welcome an opportunity to pray with you or continue the conversation further regarding how you can experience for yourself this amazing love that only comes from God. Believe me it will fill your cup to overflowing not just on Valentines Day, but 365 days a year and that my friend is the best love connection of all! Until next time, Sending so much love, Dana XO Romans 5:8 NIV : But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Little Lesson Learned: There is a big love from God waiting for all of us. Reach out and take it today. Copyright © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana (Dana Romualdi) Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved. Tags: love connection, love, Valentine's Day, valentines, dating, marriage, love story, encouragement, God's love, Christian blog, Christian blogs, Christian blogger, life advice, personal development, hope, patience
“Joy: the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” ~ David Steindl – Rast Check out part one in this series: |
AuthorDana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker and recording artist. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books. |
Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker and recording artist. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books.
Feel free to reach out to Dana
at: dana.romualdi@gmail.com
Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker and recording artist. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much-needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working in the classroom or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books..
Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker and recording artist. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books.
Dana Romualdi is a Canadian elementary teacher, social worker, blogger, author, motivational speaker and recording artist. She has a passion for helping others and spreading much needed encouragement. She lives in Canada with her husband and two grown children. When she is not working or blogging, she enjoys drinking coffee, watching Netflix and reading great books.