The $1.50 Date Night
š What a Costco Hot Dog on Valentineās Day Taught Me About Love
AUDIO LETTER: Busy day? Happy to read todayās letter to you instead.
After a chilly but wonderful week in central Florida with our kids and grandsāfollowed by a more seasonable one with my husbandās siblings and spousesāMike and I pointed our Subaru north toward home last Saturday.
Valentineās Day.
Ten hours. Two quick bathroom breaks. And somewhere near Columbia, South Carolina, the welcome sight of a red Costco sign in the distance.
Knowing our cupboards at home were bare, we pulled off and joined the late afternoon crowd, weaving our way straight to the back of the store for the best deals: bananas and clementines, milk and eggs, multigrain bread. And of course, the prizeāthe famed $4.99 rotisserie chicken.
But with a three-hour drive still ahead of us, it wasnāt only the car that needed refueling. It was dinnertime.
Solution? A $1.50 hot dog and soda. Which we shared.
Did my husband not love me enough to treat me to a finer meal on February 14th than the Costco food court?
Did my heart hurt from unrealized expectations?
Did you know that the very first reference to a broken heart in Scripture refers not to human beings, but to God?
In Genesis 6:6 (NLT), when it says the Lord āwas sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earthā and āit broke his heart,ā the Hebrew reads vayyitāatzev el-libboāāit grieved (or pained) God to His heart,ā expressing not regret over a mistake but profound, personal sorrow in the very core of Godās being.
This type of grief is covenantal vulnerability, not divine weakness.
Deep anguish, not emotional volatility.
Human sin polluted creation, and that broke Godās heart.
The theology of the heart in scripture shows us that only love can be wounded. To love others is to risk disappointment, even deep sorrow.
God felt it first.
Yet out of his heart of love, He sent a solution. God so loved the world that He gave us his only Sonāan act of love that would ensure that those who placed their faith in Jesus would receive the most remarkable gift imaginable, eternal life.
When we were lost in what we wanted, God found us with what we needed.
Have you ever heard of a palimpsest? Itās an old word referring to writing material (such as a parchment or tablet) thatās been reused. Though the original text on some ancient manuscripts has been erased or scraped away, traces of the earlier writing may still be visible.
The human heart is a sort of palimpsest. Godāthe true exegete of the heartācan read beneath the surface text of our hearts. He knows exactly who we are and what we truly need.
āHe looks past our failings and sees our souls. He sees our hearts and who he designed us to be. He pours out his love in abundance.ā Savannah Guthrie, Mostly What God Does
On a secular holiday associated with overpriced greeting cards and flowers, beribboned gifts and fancy meals, my husband of nearly 50 years knew not only what I needed, but what I wanted as well.
š¹ It wasnāt a bouquet of roses that would have added more expense to our vacation expenditures.
š½ļø It wasnāt fine dining at a sit-down restaurant that would have prolonged our trip home.
š« It wasnāt a big box of candy that would derail my fitness plans.
All I wanted was having Mike with me on the journey.
All I needed was the satisfaction we took in our simple shared meal.
On Valentineās Day 2026, that was the best darn hot dog Iāve ever had.š
ITāS YOUR TURN! What was one of the best gifts youāve ever received?
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This year we are confined at home for Valentineās Day. My husband needs to stay home while he slowly heals from an extensive back surgery. I was so surprised when I got up early Valentineās Day morning and found flowers, a card and chocolate covered strawberries set out for me! My husband had orchestrated this with the help of friends. But you know it wasnāt the gifts that touched my heart so deeply- it was the love of this man Iāve been with for almost 50 years taking the time to show his love for me! What gift could be better!
This was beautiful maggie thank you
The most precious gift I ever received on Valentineās Day was a proposal of marriage from my dear husband. He gave me 10 cassette tapes. told me to listen to them in order. 60 hours of music . In the music, he shared our youth, our history before, and after meeting and ended with ācan I have this dance for the rest of my life?ā