Prom 2012

Its that special time of year again and I wanted to take a chance to remind all of my prom going friends to be cautious and careful with their choices.  I recently read a post from an AIM World Racer that I believe is a relevant read for all young people.  Please take the time to read her story before hearing some of my thoughts on the oh-so-popular topic of sex before marriage or the oh-so-even-more-popular topic of how far is too far.

Stephanie shares from her personal experience of telling thousands of students in Uganda about her regret over not waiting until marriage to have sex.  In 2004, I had a similar opportunity to share with students in Botswana, who also struggle to understand how AIDS is transmitted and how to express love for one another without having sex.  At that time, I was already dating Sean (he actually proposed to me at the airport as I returned from this trip) and I had the blessing of using my personal experience of being in love with him and not needing to have sex with him to show it.  I remember standing in front of class room full of students saying, "I have a boyfriend at home in the US and I love him very much but I don't have to sex with him to show it."  The students were astounded, just as I am sure that Doreen was to hear this same message from Stephanie.

But here is the really important thing that I want to say to you all.  Please read carefully.  You don't have to have sex before marriage to learn some of the same painful lessons about sex, your body, your value etc that Stephanie mentions in her blog post.  I may have made it to my wedding day with my virginity intact but there are plenty of mistakes that I made that left me (and consequently, my spouse) with the same kinds of wounds.

The Lord is faithful to heal.  And he makes good on all his promises, including the one Stephanie mentioned about working everything together for good (see Romans 8:28).  If you're already bearing wounds and scars, please allow the Lord to heal you before inflicting any further damage.  If you're struggling to hold on to your virginity by throwing everything else to the wind, please hear me when I tell you that there is a better way.  If you feel like the only who isn't having sex or isn't messing around, don't let other people make this important decision for you by pressuring you because of their foolishness, sometimes it good to be the only one ;)

1 Thessalonians 5:23 "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."