You’re not alone — even if the chair beside you is empty.

Valentine’s Day used to mess with me a little.

Not loudly… not dramatically… just quietly.
A small whisper in the morning that said: You’re alone again.

And if you’re a single parent — especially a newly single one — you probably understand that feeling. The world is full of flowers, couples, reservations, and pictures online that all seem to say you’re missing something.

But this morning I woke up… and I was okay.

Not pretending.
Not distracting myself.
Actually okay.

Because years ago, I learned something the hard way:

> I would rather sit alone in peace than sit beside someone and feel lonely.

There is a special kind of loneliness that exists inside a relationship where you are unseen, unheard, and emotionally exhausted.
And once you’ve lived there… quiet no longer feels empty.
It feels safe.

—

The Lie About Being Alone

Society tells us partnership equals success.
That being chosen by a person proves your worth.

But many of us know the truth:

You can be married and anxious.
You can be committed and miserable.
You can share a bed and still cry silently at night.

So today — if you are sitting without a Valentine — I want you to hear this clearly:

**Peace is not a downgrade.
Peace is a gift.**

And sometimes singleness isn’t punishment…

…it’s protection.

—

God Does Not Leave When People Do

One of the greatest fears after separation is not the logistics — it’s the silence.

The quiet evenings.
The empty passenger seat.
The lack of adult conversation after the kids go to bed.

But this is where faith becomes more than a church word.

God never promised we’d always have a partner.
He did promise we would never be abandoned.

Not emotionally.
Not spiritually.
Not in the middle of rebuilding a life you didn’t plan.

Sometimes Valentine’s Day becomes sacred ground — the day you discover His companionship is not poetic language… it’s real presence.

You talk.
You cry.
You breathe again.

And slowly you realize:

**You are not waiting to be loved.
You are already loved.**

—

What Can Grow in This Season

I laughed this morning thinking about how many powerful lives started in seasons of aloneness.

> J. K. Rowling wrote *Harry Potter* as a struggling single mother dealing with depression and poverty.
> Cathy Hughes raised her son alone before building a media empire and becoming the first Black woman to head a publicly traded company.
> Joy Mangano was a single mom working multiple jobs before inventing the Miracle Mop.

None of them were celebrating romantic Valentine’s Days when their lives changed.
They were surviving ordinary days.

Maybe this day — the one you thought symbolized what you don’t have — can become a day that grows what you *will* have.

Peace.
Healing.
Direction.
Identity.

Sometimes God removes noise so you can finally hear Him.

—

A Word to the Single Parent Tonight

If this is your first Valentine’s Day alone…

Don’t rush to fill it.
Don’t panic-date.
Don’t measure your value by who texts you.

Sit in the quiet.

Make a meal you enjoy.
Laugh with your kids.
Pray honestly — not perfectly.

And before the day ends, remember this:

You are not behind in life.
You are not rejected.
You are not forgotten.

You are being rebuilt.

And the love you are receiving right now — the steady, peaceful, healing kind — is the kind that will teach you what you should never accept again.

So tonight, instead of saying:

“I’m alone.”

Say:

**“I have peace — and God is sitting with me.”**

Happy Valentine’s Day.
You’re going to be alright.