When I woke up this morning I had every intention of writing a post about something entirely different until I heard a certain song on the radio for the first time while driving to the store. The song impacted me in a way I wasn’t prepared for and I knew immediately I would be changing my blog post today. I am not going to tell you the song yet because you have to wait to watch the video below because I said so.

With today being the first day of February, the month of love I hope you will find this post inspiring and I hope it influences how you spend your Valentine’s Day this year. Valentine’s Day is directed at couples typically and can therefor put a real bitter stigma on the day if you are single, or even if you just aren’t getting along with your partner at the time. There’s seems to be a lot of thought and expectation put into what you get and give and where you go or what you do. The truth is people put far less thought into actual actions of love. I believe this is why this song impacted me so strongly. You don’t show love with money or things but by your every day actions towards someone and your dedication to sticking with them even if it gets ugly or hard.

Through the first chorus I couldn’t help but think of the Boss and how far we have come and how it’s a miracle we haven’t poisoned one another. I thought of when we wanted kids but didn’t have them yet and how we have them now but don’t deserve them. Moments later I was thinking of my twin and how I wish I could be there for him daily to lift him up.  I thought about my sisters and how they are always there for me, lifting me up. And finally my friends who inspire me to try a little harder to be a little better. I sat in my car in a Wal-mart parking lot bawling as I thought of all of the people in my life who mean so much to me. The ones I will never give up on and those who have never given up on me.

While I was overwhelmed with how blessed I am by the people in my life I was equally overwhelmed by the thought of all the people in the world about to give up on something they love. I thought of the couple who wants to have their own children, the kid who hopes he will be adopted, the wife who writes letters to her soldier, the cancer patient who dreams of turning sweet 16, the children who want their parents to stay together, the athlete who wants to finish the race, the girl who wants to get married, the old man who wants his wife to remember who he is. I thought of people I know in these situations and many more with unfortunate circumstances and I silently wish that they don’t give up.

I know there is so much going on in life and sometimes it’s just too much to face. Love is a marathon though and not a race. Sometimes it’s easy to keep the pace and other times it feels impossible to take one more step but I do know that nothing can overpower the satisfaction of finishing no matter how many times you wanted to quit along the way. I don’t want to tell anyone what to do but my wish this February is that you fight for that person you’re thinking about at this very moment and don’t give up on them. Don’t give up on a difficult marriage, a bitter friendship, a wayward child, whatever trial you may be facing and especially never EVER give up on yourself. You will find that they are worth it, you are worth it, love is worth it.  As hard and miserable as things can seem, the payoff for sticking with it is unconditional love. I smile to think of what would happen in the world if every person chose to simply love even though not everyone is easy to love. I bet we would if we realized our happiness is at stake.

I made a video slide show (so teeny-bopper right?) using the song that made me cry in the wal-mart parking lot. My video is a little random (ok, VERY random and poorly made). I was trying really hard to have it finished for my post today and even though it’s now after midnight I am still counting it towards my goal because I am still awake so that means it’s still today and it’s my goal so I make the rules. It’s ok for you to think the video is cheesy (it most definitely is) but it’s my personal reminder of what is at stake. Maybe you can make your own cheesy video to remind yourself why your loved ones are worth it.

For me nothing is more important than my family. Without them I am nothing and if I don’t do everything in my power to ensure we stay together then I don’t deserve them. My kids deserve the best life possible and they depend on me to provide that for them. That life has nothing to do with jobs or possessions but does include kindness and service, comfort and reassurance, laughter and playtime and most importantly, parents who show love and respect to each other. If those are the only things I manage to provide for the people I care about then I have exceeded my biggest dream in life.

The song is I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz. I forgot all about the new privacy policy so I guess you can’t even watch my video in some countries. However, you can see the lyric video HERE.