It’s Valentine’s Day! I was just skimming through my Facebook newsfeed and noticed that there seems to be two kinds of people today — those who are excited about Valentine’s Day and those who can’t wait for today to be over.

Even though I am very single this Valentine’s Day (but totally looking - so if you know of any single 30-something Christian guys please send them my way *wink*), this holiday holds a special place in my heart.

Two years ago I had the worst Valentine’s Day ever (with a very happy ending).

I was in a long-distance relationship at the time and if you’ve ever done the long-distance thing, you know it’s not easy.

When you’re in love with someone who you can’t see on a regular basis, every phone call, text and card means that much more.

We’d had a rough couple of months of breaking up and getting back together, but we seemed to be back on the right track and I was hopeful that things were going to work out with us.

I knew we weren’t going to have a traditional Valentine’s Day since we were on opposite sides of the country, but even on a normal day we would talk on the phone or Skype or even just chat on Facebook for awhile.

When Valentine’s Day rolled around I spent the day occupying myself with work while sneaking glances at my phone and trying not to worry.

I don’t remember the exact time that I finally figured out that he wasn’t even planning on talking to me on Valentine’s Day, but I do remember the moment I heard the familiar sound of a text from him on my phone.

It was 10 pm and the text simply read, “Happy Valentine’s Day”

My heart sank as I realized that my worst fear had come true. Somehow I was able to reply a quick thanks before bursting into tears.

We broke up for the last time a few days later.

Of course, I promised you a happy ending and here it is. You (the person reading this) are my happy ending.

You see, after that bad break-up, I was feeling pretty down (can you say depressed?) and one of the first things that helped to make me feel normal again was winning a Facebook contest.

I was thrilled to find out I’d won something and even more thrilled when my prize arrived at the door. (It was a prize pack from ABC featuring promotional items from some of their most popular shows.)

I was hooked.

Over the next few months I experienced win after win (books, CD’s, gift certificates, etc.) and started to look forward to getting the mail every day.

It was while searching online for more contests that I stumbled across giveaway blogs and I started to think how cool it would be to have one of those blogs and make people happy through giveaways.

I didn’t have the first clue how to run a giveaway blog, but when a friend of mine asked me to start a coupon blog with her I decided to launch my new blog at the same time.

And that’s how Oh My Gosh Beck! was born.

Now almost 2 years, 70,000 subscribers and countless giveaways later, I work full-time from home and make a living doing something that I enjoy and that (hopefully) brings happiness to other people.

That feeling is 100x better than being in a relationship with someone who isn’t sure they want to be in a relationship with you (trust me, I know).

And to think that it all started because of a broken heart on Valentine’s Day.

I hope that each and everyone of you, whether you’re single or not, ultimately feels loved today.

And if you are a little sad this Valentine’s Day or maybe even completely brokenhearted, just remember that wonderful things are right around the corner for you, even if you can’t see it right now.

Of course, it doesn’t feel right to end this post without a giveaway, so let’s do it! I have a $20 Amazon gift card for one lucky reader out there and I’m going to make entry super-simple.

Just answer this question in a comment, “Have you ever had a bad Valentine’s Day before? And if so, what did you do to get over it?”

You can earn daily bonus entries by sharing this giveaway using the share buttons below. Just leave me another comment letting me know how you shared this giveaway.

Make sure you enter your email when making your comment so I can contact you if you win. The giveaway will end at 11:59 PM EST on 2/22 and is open worldwide.

Good luck… and Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

 

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