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Betrothed at Three??

Most of you know that we have embarked on new territory in the courting process with our Little Woman.  She is courting our Pastor's son, Nathan.  She is currently spending the summer months in California with some of her family, away from us and from Nathan, which has been giving her a small taste of what is fondly referred to as "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

What you may not know is that The Doodler (our 3 year old) has decided that SHE is going to marry Nathan and is taking advantage of the time her sister is away!   Never you mind the age difference - 15 years is nothing to her.  She loves uses it to her advantage when Little Woman and Nathan will sit with the family during church so that she can sit politely wedge her way onto Nathan's lap.  When he comes over to the house, she respectfully asks giggles and bats her eyes to convince Nathan into carrying her.  At church she monopolizes his attentions and has mysteriously figured out how to get him to hold her hand.

Last evening, we had the family come over to share dinner with us so that we could continue to get to know Nathan and the family - ok - we needed begged Nathan to watch the dog and water the garden while we are on vacation next month.  Doodler, being primed and ready, even changed her dress, because the other one wasn't appropriate for Nathan to see.  She was up for the evening and was not in short supply of giggles and smiles for him.  She talked and talked, and made sure that Nathan noticed her. . . . . . . until right after dinner when she retired to the sofa and inadvertantly fell asleep for the night. . . . . . . . . . . 

Our Daugter's Journey

We hear so often, "What is Courting" and "Why are you doing THAT as opposed to dating?"  Why is it that people believe that we must allow our children to test drive future spouses like a used car lot?

On this blog, Hearts of Family, she tells us, "biblical courtship is a great blessing. It takes the extremely important process of finding a life partner out of the realm of human autonomy (irrationality, fleeting emotions, lust and romance), and places it squarely upon God's infallible word. It frees men and women from temptation and peer pressure, con artists and hasty, ill-informed decisions by protecting them by means of a convenantal fence. It brings men and women together with their Christian parents and their decades of sanctified experience. It also gives young adults a genuine opportunity to really get to know one another. It is our hope and prayer that God's people would return to this biblical practice."

Biblical courting relies heavily on my husbands involvement with our daughter and her future spouse.  Parent's honor has been stripped away slowly over the years from the family.  My husband is my daughter's protector until he hands her over in marriage, and quite frankly, my daughters are so comfortable with this that they would have it no other way. 

When a boy wants to begin courting one of our daughters, the first step is to approach their father and request permission to begin courting.  This will rule out a good many of our culture's weak-kneed boys.  This act alone signifies courage and responsibility on the part of the boy.  Yes, we want godly men for our daughters, but we also want ones who are fully committed to them. 

When I was growing up my parents allowed me to date and to have all sorts of "crushes."  I have clear, vivid memories of having my heart broken when my feelings were not reciprocated by these boys and  I also remember being in several compromising positions where I fell to peer pressure.  None of these relationships resulted in marriage.  I don't want my daughters to have to go through the heartache that I went through.  Biblical courtship alleviates this, in the fact that if the relationship is not seen with an ending result of marriage, then it shouldn't begin in the first place.

We are beginning this journey with our eldest daughter.  It is amazing to watch it unfold and to see God's hand in it.  It is such a blessing to get to know this potential life mate for our daughter and to see a better future for her.

Blessings,

Michelle