I was at church yesterday and after church was over I decided to go swing. I had a skirt on so I tucked it between my legs in front and back and started pumping. While I was swinging a man and his little, I’d say 2 year old daughter came over. They apparently go to my church, though I’d never seen them before, and we said hey and talked a little about school. I don’t think they’d been coming long because he didn’t know me, and I’ve gone to the church my entire life.
Anyway, he told me that his little girl just started swinging and she loved it. So he took her over there and placed her on the swing and told her to hang on really tight. Then he lifted her up, and let her go. She screamed, but she held on. Over the next few minutes I observed her giggling and saying “dat’s funny” and stuff like that, and them playing together.
As I watched I realized that she trusted him SO much. Her name was Hope, and she held on tight. After swinging for awhile, she decided she wanted to wave to her daddy(who was pushing her) and she’s like “hey Daddy!” and he said “now Hope, you have to hold on tight!” and she said “I wanna wave!” and he said “you have to trust me, hold on tight!” And so she held on tight and didn’t fall.
A lot of times we’re like that with God. We start on this walk (swinging) and it’s going great. God tells us to hold on(do his will) and we’re like “OK!” and we do it. But after awhile we decide we want to wave(do our will) and it seems like a good idea to us! But what we can’t see is that we’ll fall on our faces if we do wave. We have to trust that he knows what he’s doing when he says “hold on!”. And if we do, we’ll soar..
Now back to what I was writing yesterday about kisses.
I made a vow to God awhile back that I wouldn’t kiss anyone until “You may kiss the bride” is pronounced upon my husband and myself. Now don’t think I’m saying everyone should do that, because there was a very specific reason that he told me to do that, and it was something God called me to. If God didn’t call you to, then that’s fine. I’m not going to say you’re bad or anything. What I am saying is that having that position has made me pay more attention to what others say about kissing.
At camp we had a discussion about purity and waiting for our husbands, and my counselors all said that if they could go back in time, they would have never made out with their boyfriends, or kissed them in any way besides a small peck. That’s pretty intense. But I wonder, if it’s something we might regret, why do we still do it??
The media plays a big part in that. Take the Disney movie “Sleeping Beauty” for example. When Prince Philip and Aurora first meet, Philip asks Aurora her name. She tells him that since he is a stranger, she won’t tell him her name, for safety reasons. But then they kiss! Before he even knows her name!! How rediculous is that??
And how many movies and TV episodes are there where a girl tells a guy she likes him by kissing him?? Just grabbing him and kissing him. How is that for building a strong foundation for a relationship??
Maybe I’m being old-fashioned, but to me, a kiss is something very special. After all, everyone remembers their first kiss. Now how many people’s first kisses are with “George Gherkins, in 4th grade” or “Bob Jakowski, in 6th grade” or even “that jerk Kevin McRooney in 9th grade”?? A lot. Most people regret their first kiss, or at least the object of their first kiss, their whole lives. Some people claim the excuse that they couldn’t help themselves, the physical attraction was too strong. It isn’t. If you expect it to be a piece of cake then yes, chances are you will be overcome by your desires. But if you realize it is a battle, a constant one, and that you can hold on, then you can win the battle over your desires.
Save those kisses for someone special. I wish everyone could never regret a kiss given. Don’t regret yours.
†
Sarah
