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Valentine's Day

I was walking through the "fragrance" department in Dillard's today to pick up a donation for the Haiti trip I'm going on in June. A service clerk stopped me and asked me to smell the new Jessica Simpson perfume. I smelled it, and then thought about why she might be letting me smell a perfume instead of a cologne. Quickly, I said, "Oh, I don't have anyone to buy this for." She responded, "Oh, you don't have anyone?" I said, "No," but told her I did like the fragrance.

I don't mind very much that I'm not with anyone. In fact, it's been nice to be able to focus on some of the more important things in life. I just hope I can keep that perspective, because I know that is a prerequisite for having healthy relationships. That is, a relationship cannot be the one thing to which you turn to make you happy. It is more important to live a life of purpose, guided by a loving God. A life genuinely lived by this purpose will become the soil-- watered by loyalty-- in which any relationship (romantic, friendship, family, or other) will be able to grow.

I must say that I don't always live by this principle, but I would like to see it in myself more and more. More than anything, I want my God to see me as completely honest, loyal, and genuine, without hidden motives in my interactions with others; and I hope that in the process, others see it in me, too.

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