The Ring

It's come and gone once more! We are now a bit more than a week post-Valentine's Day. Several years ago, I talked to our eighth grade girls about keeping February 14th in perspective. I told them about my folks' courtship and marriage and the love my dad showed my mom when she no longer knew who she was. I told them what it means when a boy their age wants to kiss them (nothing) and that none of their folks knew each other at thirteen with very rare exceptions. Veronica Fontenot Dillard, one of my former students who now teaches with us, was with me. She wisely told them that in God's time, He will find the someone they deserve. The following, which originally ran May 31, 2010, takes that point of view.

About two weeks ago, eighty-eight year old actress Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live and the media made a big deal of it. I was reminded that several years ago I began a devotional entry centering around her that, for some reason, I never finished. I am picking it up exactly where I left off.......It's almost February so love is fixing to be in the air. Already, I've noticed an increase in hearts on my female students' quizzes and tests. I'll put up the Love Board next week. (If you are curious about the Love Board, go back to February 14, 2017 on this site and check out For All To See for a more complete explanation.) I guess I have to mentally prepare myself as well. It always seems the Lord gives me something to see at just the right time which helps me see life in a new light when I'm pondering what to write about. This afternoon, I caught about five minutes of a PBS documentary on the history of television game and quiz shows. Any black-and-white clips grab my attention so I watched even though I was running behind. The documentary was at the moment focused on Password, a show that aired from 1961-75. It was novel in the fact that it paired a celebrity with an everyday contestant. The celebrities struggled just the same as their unknown partners, showing them in a much more human light. The host of Password was Allen Ludden. A widower, Ludden fell for for one of the celebrity guests who had a recurring role, Betty White. In an interview, she told how as friends, they went out to dinner one night. Out of the blue, Ludden proposed to her and pulled out a beautiful diamond from a jewelry box. They weren't even dating and Betty angrily refused. Instead of returning the ring to the jewelers, Allen put the ring on a necklace and wore it everywhere he went, telling her she was going to marry him eventually. A year later, after seeing that ring every day around his neck, she relented and married him. She spoke of how she now regretted giving up a year of happiness by not saying yes in the first place. Allen saw something Betty did not immediately grasp; that they were made for each other and he was willing to wait for her. And she is so grateful he did.

Everybody loves a good love story, some more than others. (Remember I teach teenage girls.) We talk in class about how there is a fine line in romantic pursuit between persistence, which is good, and stalking, which is grounds for arrest. Allen Ludden played it just right. He could not make the decision for the one he loved- she had to come to the conclusion herself- but by wearing the ring, he without a word was displaying his heart. In class, we also talk about how the Lord pursues us but, like Betty White, we must make the choice ourselves. In Revelation 3, verse 20, Jesus says He knocks- He did not say He kicks the door down. We have to open it ourselves from the inside. Betty White expressed remorse for passing on a solitary year with her beloved husband. Consider the regret for declining an eternity with our Maker. The future Mrs. Allen Ludden finally responded to the ring. Will we respond to the knock?

Applicable quote of the day, # 1:
"My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.”
Elizabeth Taylor

Applicable quote of the day, # 2:
''In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing.''

Mignon McLaughlin

God bless,

Steve
Luke 18:1

http://www.hawleybooks.com/

E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com