The "S" Word

I was just having an "Instant Message" conversation with my nephew, Trent. I have always been close to him. He's getting ready to graduate from Bellmont on Sunday. Wish we could be there, but it's a bit far from the U.K. 

Anyway, his mom, Jill, and I are very close. In fact, she is my first cousin, my sister in Christ, and my sister-in-law. Oh, and she is one of my very best friends. You can't get much closer than that with all of those bonds! She has 6 children whom I love dearly. But Trent is her firstborn, was our ring bearer, and somehow God gave us a special bond. 

So here I was today checking out my Facebook and I saw him on there. I clicked on it as a prompting of the Holy Spirit I am convinced. I started out with, "Are you all graduated" kind of thing and the conversation went on from there. It was the first time he and I chatted through that medium and I am overjoyed that we did. He and I have had some frank conversations in the past about future career choices, girlfriends, sports, life, etc. At one point in time he thought he wanted to be a chiropractor like me, but has recently felt lead to do something else. And that's okay. 

I asked him if his mom was going crazy preparing for his open house and his reply was, "She is officially crazy". I asked him to bless her by helping her. I boldly asked if he was staying pure. Yes, I did. If someone doesn't ask, and help to keep him accountable besides his mom, who will? That's the kind of relationship we have and I am ever grateful for it. As we typed our responses back and forth, I also added that I would be proud of whatever he did, as long as it didn't involve "drugs, drinking, or smoking". And then I quickly added, or "the *s* word" code for the three letter word that I didn't want my children to walk in on and read on my blog post. He then replied that he is not perfect and does some stupid *s* things. I was at a loss, disappointed for him. And so I had to ask. Do you mean you are having *s*? I sat there waiting for his slowly-typed response anticipating that it might have been a misunderstanding. Hoping that it would be.

He said, "No, Aunt Carol, I'm waiting for marriage". 

Could I have any more joy on this day? The Holy Spirit, who brings glory to Jesus, led me on this day to have that conversation with my dear nephew. And I am thrilled by his commitment to God, his future wife, his mom and dad, and to himself. He is going to knock someone's socks off one day and the blessings he will receive are more than he can ask or imagine.

Thank you, Lord, for guiding us and teaching us. Thank you for this generation that needs more kids who are wanting to follow Your commandments. Kids that want to please You. Kids who will boldly follow You.

It's something to think about, isn't it? I wish that when I was growing up I had that kind of guidance. I believe it is why I have such a heart for purity. And all the honor and glory goes to my savior, Jesus Christ.