Folks are asking the best questions! It is so exciting to have people really connect with something that is going on in your family's life and want to know all about it.
Sometimes an easy way to understand something is to know what it is not.
Michael B. does not pick out someone and tell his children - Here is your betrothed.
Our children make a diligent, prayerful effort not to 'notice' or familiarly interact with the opposite sex. They know that flirting is dishonorable and even looked down upon by the kind of people they would want to marry! And they know we would correct them if they did it - and besides, they do not want to 'flirt'.
It is Michael B. - and yours truly - who keep our ears and hearts open and Michael watches and prays.
Wesley said it well at his betrothal ceremony - "I've been trying not to notice Rachel for about a year and a half" ! His comment brought the house down!
There are hardly words to describe the joy of young people who keep their hearts and eyes to themselves and whose fathers are diligently staying in contact with families that would suit their children.......And , then , those faithful Dads talk with each other and pray together and seek the Lord about whether He would have them marry. The young people are brought into the process at an appropriate point - the whole process is just so neat.
The young people are largely protected from emotional bonding that doesn't end in marriage.
It does happen - they don't live in cloisters and everything doesn't always go according to plan, but for the most part, it is a journey to Marriage that is edifying to the whole family and is incredibly romantic.
You know, everyone's got a 'line'. Some folks draw their 'line' one place and some another. We have seen the Lord graciously give superlative fruit at drawing the 'line' waaaaaaay out there - not just 'hands' to yourself, but eyes and hearts and emotions and dreams, too. So , when you stand before the officiant at your wedding ,looking up at your beloved , there is a clarity and sparkle in the eye that is truly precious.
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