1989 seems like a long journey back in time for me. God laid an event on my heart this morning and I want to share it. A newly wed couple had moved in next door to us. She was twenty and he was twenty-one. They were sweet neighbors.
The girl, Shannon, came over one day and was distraught. She asked if both of them could come over and my answer was yes, of course. That afternoon we all sat down together. She began to cry. The boy, Larry, did not reach out to comfort her. I took her hand and waited quietly for her to say something. She blurted out, "He had sex with another girl before he met me"! I was not prepared for that and I was hurting for her.
She was a Christian. He was a nice boy, but I was not sure about his being a Christian. Then she asked, "Why couldn't he wait until he meant me"? I was silently asking the Lord to really help me with His answer! She had really come to depend on me in the short time we had known each other, so the answer had to come from God and not me! I was very frank with her:
She was a Christian. He was a nice boy, but I was not sure about his being a Christian. Then she asked, "Why couldn't he wait until he meant me"? I was silently asking the Lord to really help me with His answer! She had really come to depend on me in the short time we had known each other, so the answer had to come from God and not me! I was very frank with her:
"Men are geared to sex more than women. This does not excuse fornication. It is a sin and he needs to repent of it. You are already married and I praise you for your honesty in wanting to deal with the situation. There will be many things in marriage that will have to be dealt with for sure. You are in the wonderful position to forgive him, if he wants to repent of it. Another thing, he married you, so what happened with the other girl was just a matter of his hormones. He chose you for marriage." She dried her face with her hands and her countenance was one of enlightenment.
I don't know what transpired after that between them, but ever since then it has been in my heart the hope that young women will pray and ask God to give them the mate that He has for them! I'm writing this twenty-five years later and the days are even heavier in the way of finding a man who has loved God from childhood.
II Timothy 2:22
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
