Article February 11, 2013 Issue

Dear God, be my valentine

Jean Harris

It was early February and I’d been widowed for a few months. While on my way to work downtown, I had to go through a department store to reach my office. The store was filled with all that pertained to my favorite day, Valentine’s Day. Red roses and boxes of candy were all over the counters and rows of Valentine cards lined one wall.

By the time I reached my office, my eyes were filled with tears. Self-pity completely occupied my thoughts. Closing the door behind me, I sat at my desk, face in hands, sobbing as I talked out loud to myself, saying, “Oh, how I wish I had someone to love!”

Then the idea came to me to write a love letter to God. Reaching for my ballpoint pen, I began composing immediately. This is the prayer that flowed from my thought to the paper: