Today is Valentine’s Day – a day the world often defines by romance, flowers, and relationships.
And today also marks the beginning of my 40-Day Love Challenge.

And here I am, in a season of singleness.

Not because I don’t believe in love.
Not because I have closed my heart.
But because, for the first time in my life, I am choosing this season – intentionally.

The Pattern I Had to Notice

Every other time I experienced a breakup, I healed the way I knew best:
I poured into others.

I volunteered.
I served more.
I showed up for everyone else.

And while there is nothing wrong with serving – it is a beautiful, faith-filled response – I now realize that sometimes it was also a way of moving past my own pain too quickly. By focusing outward, I didn’t always allow myself the stillness required for deeper healing.

Serving helped me recover…
But it also kept me moving so fast that I was soon open to the next relationship without fully understanding what God may have been trying to show me.

This time is different.

I Am Pouring Out – But Not Pouring Past Myself

I am still serving.
I am still coaching.
I am still encouraging others.

That is part of my calling.

But I am no longer using service as a distraction.
I am allowing it to flow from a place of reflection, not replace it.

This season is not about withdrawing from life. It is about finally sitting with it.

Letting God examine my patterns.
Letting lessons settle.
Letting growth take root.

Because healing is not just about feeling better. It is about becoming wiser.

Redefining Love in This Season

Love is not only something we give away.
Love is something we must also allow ourselves to receive – from God, from rest, from truth, from stillness.

And sometimes love looks like not rushing ahead.

Sometimes love says:
“Stay here a little longer.”
“Learn this fully.”
“Trust Me in the quiet.”

This Valentine’s Day, I am not waiting for love to arrive. I am allowing love to do its deeper work in me.

Why This Matters for Self-Care

We often think self-care is about doing things that make us feel GOOD. But sometimes, self-care is choosing not to escape the work that will make us WHOLE.

It is resisting the urge to fill every space.
It is allowing pauses to be purposeful.
It is trusting that growth is happening even when life looks still.

For me, self-care in this season looks like:

• continuing to pour into others,

• while also making space to be poured into,

• moving forward, but not moving ahead of God.

The 40-Day Love Challenge Begins Today

So over the next 40 days, this challenge on my WhatsApp Group is not about romance.
It is about practicing love as a way of living.

Learning to love:

• with patience,

• with awareness,

• with faith,

• and without rushing the process.

Because the greatest love stories are not the quickest ones; they are the ones built on truth.

Affirmation for This Season

I choose growth over hurry.
I choose reflection over distraction.
I choose to give love and also receive it.
I trust this season is shaping me for what is ahead.

Until next Saturday!

Love, Talisha ❤️