Hi, Friends! Here's a picture of the knitted lace shell that I recently finished after about two long years of knitting! I like it so well, it's bound to become a staple item in my wardrobe.Just a few more thoughts on courtship to add to yesterday's article...
I wish there were another word to describe the subject of courtship. This word is old-fashioned, that's ok, but most folks don't know what it means except to imagine that it refers to an earlier day when stricter rules of behavior were the norm. In a way that's what's meant in the kind of courtship I'm talking about, but it's so much more as well.
Many Christian families today are returning to the concept of courtship. In the strictest definitions of that practice you have a young man approaching the father or father and mother of the girl he would like to court and asking their prayerful permission before pursuing her. If they discern that it's the Lord's will, then the girl is asked to consider this matter in prayer. There is not actually "dating" as most of the culture knows it, but rather a more supervised arrangement where the couple can get to know each other based on the prior conviction that they have already discerned God's will in the matter. Church functions, family activities, letter writing, etc., are the usual means of getting to know one another better. Ideally, at some future time a marriage follows. This is the general procedure that I described in "The Fields of May."
Yesterday I said that I have had a few criticisms of the book, although very mild and they usually concerned the fact that people don't live this way, the characters are too nice, and that it's a rare young girl these days that has a home life conducive to such an arrangement. I agree that some of those observations are founded, especially the last one.
The way I just described courtship will work well in families that are rooted and grounded in biblical teaching, but will hardly be possible for families who are not. And I know there are many different convictions even among Christians that practice courtship as opposed to dating. What one family finds acceptable, another may not. For instance, I think many times the girl involved in a courtship already knows or surmises that a certain young man is interested in her before he speaks to her parents, either because he shows extra attention to her or because she too has already considered him in prayer. Some families are not opposed to the couple being out together on what would resemble dates after a courtship is in progression. There are just alot of different ways courtships are conducted.
I sometimes think that we as Christians are missing one or two key ingredients when we lay out strict formulas about something as important as a courtship. Often we hear all the rules put forth, to the exclusion of the need for couples to really be submitted and led by the Holy Spirit. I think the strongest emphasis in the whole matter needs to be centered on whether or not a young man or young woman is mature enough to really have a solid relationship with God that is fueled by a genuine love for Christ and His word, empowered and led by the Holy Spirit. All decisions of life for a Christian, from the smallest to the greatest, should be borne out of their love for God and their close communication with Him through His Spirit. If most of us really lived that way, we'd be so much better off, wouldn't we? The Christian life is a relationship, not a set of rules.
I know there is so much more to say on the matter, but I'll leave it for tomorrow and the continuing courtship subject! Still, I'm only hitting the tip of the iceberg!
Today was a really busy one for me. I canned 7 quarts of peaches this morning. After that I hung out lots of laundry. The day became pretty warm here and my ideas of garden weeding waned with the rising temperatures! I did get some watering done, which was desperately needed.
After a quick supper, fixed mostly by Rhiannon, she and I went to try to visit relatives in our search for more family history. We had visited the county courthouse earlier in the afternoon and looked at very old books of handwritten records in our search to verify names and facts. This evening we visited several local cemeteries also looking for graves that might have more information on the stones. We didn't really learn too much, but verified just a few names. It was a real lesson to me to write down as much information for my grandchildren as I possibly can so they will not be frustrated someday if they care to know their family's past. However, as before, I realized once again, that in the end what really matters is if you know the Lord. Lives are short at best and once you're gone, many times you are forgotten after only a few generations. It's kind of sad in a way that that happens, but is a sober reminder to do everything you can each day to live in such a way as to impact your world for Christ, the only kind of impact that has eternal value! All these thoughts of family history kind of fit in with the subject of courtship, don't they? After all, that's where a family starts! Blessings, LORI
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