In the years prior to Facebook, there was Classmates. It was one of the first social media platforms used to reconnect with those with whom we went to school. One person who contacted me through that site was John.

John graduated a year ahead of me. Though we were never close in school, we had mutual friends and exchanged stories of fond memories growing up in our hometown.

After graduation, John entered the Marines. He shared bits of his life and how he made a career in the military. At the time of our correspondence he was serving a second deployment in Iraq and had rose to the rank of Major.

The year was 2008 and our twin daughters were in the third grade. The war in Iraq was often a topic of conversation at our dinner table when John would share front-line photos or personal stories of what these men and women had to endure. We made it a nightly practice to pray for all those who unselfishly gave of themselves.

One evening, I brought up the idea of asking the girl’s teacher if I could get the class to participate in a project making Valentine’s Day cards to send to the soldiers fighting overseas. We spoke the next day and my suggestion was met with great enthusiasm! She invited me into the classroom the following week to work with the students.

Having the clearance to employ this task, I told John of my plan and asked if his unit would enjoy being the recipient of our love. He was touched. When asked how many troops he oversaw, I was caught off guard. “There are about 900 or so” he answered.

That afternoon the wheels began to churn. I decided to take our project a little further and made a call to the principal at the school. It was set. The whole school would become involved in the act of spreading some love.

To make it easy, I created an 8.5 x 11 inch card on the computer, took it to a printer to have one thousand copies made and folded in half.  The front had a Valentine greeting with graphics to color, saying how much we love our Marines, and the back had the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of soldiers:

“St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Inside of the card was left blank so each of the students could write a message or, for the younger ones, draw a picture.

I put together a box of magic markers and colored pencils from the collection our children accumulated through the years, as well as decorative stamps and ink pads, then headed to the school each day for a week.

Two lunch tables were designated to this effort. During each of the lunch periods, kids from Kindergarten through High School would embellish the cards with personal touches and sentiments. Some students would spend their entire lunch drawing and writing. For a week I’d see their smiling faces eager to spread bounteous amounts of love through the creativity of their tiny hands. Even the high schoolers got involved–some of which would draw elaborate artwork and include touching greetings.

If the card idea was not enough, I decided there also needed to be candy accompanying the surprise. Learning early on from my Italian mother that food makes people feel loved, I thought these troops needed a bit of sweetness to help ease their sour situation.

Through years of fundraising for our children’s school, as well as for other causes, I had grown accustomed to speaking with companies seeking donations. I knew I didn’t have the money to buy candy for a thousand people so I began hitting up local markets and drug stores, asking if I could have any candy that remained on their shelves the morning of February 15^th so I could send it to our military overseas. Most places were happy to be a part of the mission.

Because our project grew to having the school participate, it pushed the date to send all these wishes until the week after Valentine’s Day. That was okay. We knew the troops would be surprised, even if the wishes were a little late.

On the evening of February 15th, the entrance hall of our home was lined with twenty boxes filled with one thousand cards and approximately two hundred pounds of candy. In addition, as a special treat, I made John and his superior each a Rum Cake; generously soaked for added flavor. At the time, I didn’t realize alcohol was prohibited in their area. Fortunately, the inclusion of the second cake for John’s superior allowed my friend to have his cake and eat it too.

Mike arrived home after work and asked, “How are you planning on shipping all these boxes?” Not thinking the plan through, I figured I’d find a way. That night I prayed, “Lord, you say all things are possible with you. How in the world do I get two hundred pounds of candy to Iraq?” I went to bed a little down-hearted knowing it had to be beyond my means to ship all those boxes.

The following morning, with boxes loaded in our van, my first stop was to drop off the kids at school then head to the post office to see how much sending two hundred pounds of candy to Iraq would cost. As the kids disembarked, a mom saw me and came over to my window to inquire about Operation Love (the nickname given to our project.)

I shared how everything came together nicely; we had enough cards and the candy donations were generous, only I had not thought about the shipping costs. She smiled and said, “How about if I take half of the boxes and ship them through our family business? It will be my contribution to the mission.” I stood there shocked as Martha began transferring boxes into her car.

While we were loading the last of them, another friend came over to inquire about the project. Seeing the other boxes left in my van, she offered to ship the reaming ten through her family business as their contribution. I couldn’t believe it!

With tears, I hugged and thanked them both, telling them how their offers were an answer to my prayer from the previous night. I remember heading home, once again, humbled by how God hears us and provides; even for the insignificant moments like how to get candy to Iraq.

Later that week I thanked all the children, the principal, and those who were so generous in their help. The best part was thinking how our little acts of love would bring a smile to almost a thousand people. Our small effort had the capacity to deliver a huge ray of sunshine to so many who were surrounded by an overwhelming cloud of darkness and I couldn’t wait to hear about their reactions!

It was about two weeks before I heard from John. The correspondence read, “Hi Robin. We received your boxes. Thank you. My troops are grateful for your thoughtfulness, but there’s one thing, we aren’t Marines. I’m a Major in the Army.”

I’ve made some stupid mistakes in my life, but this had to be the most embarrassing. A thousand cards were sent to army men and women, telling them how much we love our Marines. Yes. You read that correctly.

I went on to inquire, “John! What happened to you being a Marine? I thought, ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine.’  When did you jump ship and join the Army?”  He went on to tell me his story of switching branches and said he thought I knew.

I was thankful John and his almost one thousand troops had a sense of humor. While they laughed at my monumental faux pas and enjoyed the candy, I felt miserable for weeks, constantly berating myself for being such a dolt.

I still think about this event with each passing Valentine’s Day. While the outcome wasn’t exactly what I expected, the execution of Operation Love proved to be a great learning experience for those in our family, and the entire school for that matter. It showed how powerful pulling together for the greater good of others can be. It doesn’t matter if our actions are imperfect. What matters is that the love with which we perform those actions is from the heart.

The love exhibited by all those students was pure. And I bet the effect it had on some of those soldiers was profound. I’m sure more than a few who received a handwritten card were deeply touched, and to this day, still reflect back to the moment of being the recipient of such kindness. Deployed to a different country, living under adverse conditions, and knowing someone was thinking about them had to have made a small positive impact on their time there.

As we celebrate this Valentine’s Day, let the focus not be so much on candy, hearts, and flowers, but on how small acts of kindness and love can affect those who might need it the most. We don’t have to have a sweetheart to be amazing lovers!