Beyond Romance: A Counter-cultural Day of Love

Written by Steffanie W.

In today’s culture, Valentine’s Day is often associated with sappy love songs, flowers, boxes of chocolate, and various heart-shaped items in shades of red and pink. But for Koinonia, it’s a day to break free from the popular notion that Valentine’s Day is exclusively about romantic love, so we seized the day to share God’s love with the people in our community. For Valentine’s Day of Compassion this year, many of us visited 10 elderly homes and homeless shelters to spend time with the residents there – singing hymns and praise songs, doing arts and crafts, and also putting on a skit and mini-orchestra performance!

A week prior to our visit, we were able to put together different gifts for the residents, such as the towel-turned-cupcakes made by the junior class.

Some of us were a little nervous at the beginning, worried that we wouldn’t know what to say or do. However, the smiles on the residents’ faces made us feel so welcomed and comfortable.

We’re really thankful for the sweet memories and connections made with the residents as we chatted the night away with them. Many of us felt so encouraged upon hearing their testimonies about God’s continual faithfulness in their lives!

Even though we only got to spend a short amount of time with them, we’re really grateful to be reminded of our Heavenly Father’s love, which enables us to love as it says in 1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.” Hope you’ll be able to join us next year!