SOMEDAY, MY PRINCE WILL COME

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:3

Last night was the Father-Daughter Purity Ball at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. It was Jocelyn's year to go with Carl. They looked amazing and had a truly wonderful time.

It is always amazing to me that this event attracts so much media attention because so many people would have us believe that it is "controversial". When Catey attended, both Glamour and Oprah Magazines were present. Their write-ups were less than glowing. This year, Time Magazine, the New York Times and a UK documentary company came to the Ball. Even the Colorado Springs Gazette was there....and their article was actually very balanced.

So many people are trying to expose some hidden agenda in these balls. There are so many misconceptions of what the Purity Ball is all about. Even Glamour and Oprah got it wrong....AND THEY WERE THERE! Much of the media (and probably a lot of people) think this event is all about bribing your daughter into remaining a virgin until she is married. The thought that these families would reduce their daughter to a mere plaything definitely flies in the face of all that the Father-Daughter Purity Ball stands for and promotes.

It is easy to see why many folks focus on the daughter. She is the one in the beautiful dress and being recognized as the treasure she is. But the Purity Ball is really all about Dad. Lisa and Randy Wilson started the Purity Ball as an event for the DAD and his daughter. They never had virginity pledges and the like attached to their Ball, which is considered the gold standard for Purity Balls. They did not want to focus solely on the daughter's physical nature. In fact, the Ball is all about the spiritual.

At the Ball, the father is recognized as the High Priest of his household, and as such, he is blessed with the responsibility to protect, love and lead his family. In a society that tries to tell our daughters how to look, how to dress, how to eat, how to not eat, how to get a guy, how to lose a guy, and have it "all", she needs a knight to fight for her! It is the father that signs a pledge at the Purity Ball. He agrees to live a life of integrity....to model it for his daughter. How can that possibly be controversial? From him, she is learning to follow the Lord in integrity and to consider that when considering a husband AND all other life decisions. This is not about the daughter being property to be "kept", it is about her being a treasure to be cherished and protected and loved. It is about giving her a firm foundation and holding her precious, as the Lord holds her. It is about giving her the freedom in Christ to know that she has trained her mind on her heavenly Father, through the guidance of her earthly father, so that everyone is confident when it is time for her "to leave the nest." In a world where we have learned that the absence of a father greatly and negatively affects a girl's whole life, why would her father's public declaration of his love and protection of her be controversial? Is it sheltering? You bet! What is wrong with that? I wish I had had that kind of shelter growing up!

In a word....the Father-Daughter Purity Ball is about Daddy being his daughter's knight in shining armor until her earthly prince comes for her. Our daughters are beautiful and I suspect we may have occasion to meet many would-be princes who would sweep them off their feet. If their Daddy doesn't teach them to stay pure in mind, body, heart and soul....how will they know which one the Lord has chosen for them? It is the knight's job to fend off the would-be captors so that his princess can keep her mind in perfect peace by keeping it stayed on the Lord, because her Daddy has taught her to trust Him. (Isaiah 26:3). And in learning that in reference to her earthly husband, she learns this also about her heavenly bridegroom. Trusting and waiting for Him to come. And while the Purity Ball is a lovely event to affirm this....the feast of the Marriage of the Lamb is what we desire our daughters to crave most!

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