Courtship?

We have not entered the dating season of life yet in this house (thank you, Lord!!), but I'm sure it is coming in the not too distant future. Bub has especially liked the same young lady since he was in grade six (wow!!), but has no plans to pursue her at this point because, 1) he can't drive yet, 2) dating is a waste of time in highschool. Too much drama!! (His words not mine.) 3) there are too many things he wants/needs to do yet before he is ready to settle down. Peach is being noticed by the male species despite the fact that she doesn't seem to notice them. And Beans, well, Beans has a young lad who is sweet on her and she quite likes him too. Thankfully, in grade 7 that's all it means -- at least for these two it does.They talk to each other when they see each other and that's about it.

In other words, we can no longer choose to be blissfully unconcerned about boy girl relationships in our home. Our kids have always had good friends of the opposite gender. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they were home schooled. Boys or girls didn't have cooties. They liked to do fun things too. Now that they're in school, my older ones still quite enjoy the company of the opposite gender. To quote Beans, "boys actually do stuff. Girls just stand around and talk. It's soooo boring!"

In order to get the wheels turning and my brain around this whole boy-girl relationship thing, I've read two of Joshua Harris's books. I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl. The first one I did as a summer read aloud to Bub and Peach. It was great because they expressed thoughts and opinions and helped me see things from their perspective.

I found both books very good reads. I greatly appreciated that Harris clearly expresses that there is no rulebook to follow when you court and that just because he and his now wife Shannon, took the road to marriage a particular way doesn't mean that his readers should do the exact same as them. It has to be what works for you and your situation at the time. What I really liked is how Joshua stresses that God needs to be first in each individual's life and in the relationship as a couple. Easy? No way!! God's way? Ultimately the best road for a great relationship that is honest, caring, loving, and lasting!

The only questions that really remain unanswered for me is what happens if Boy meets Girl and they're both young yet, but their families can see that they're God designed for each other? I'm not saying this has happened, but I do know it's very possible.

Around here (anyway), this kind of dating (we'll call it courting as Joshua does) is pretty much unheard of, so how do you go about teaching your children and their possible future spouses that the road is much better if you do it God's way? Thankfully we're not crossing any of those bridges yet, and I do believe Harris has yet another book in this series which might be able to answer those questions. We're entering uncharted territory here my friends, but it's going to be an interesting ride!!

God does not want you to awaken love until the time is right.  Song of Solomon 2:7 paraphrased.

Blessings!