Don't give away all of your Kit Kat!

My daughter, K, is 8 years old.  She has always been boy crazy.  She gets that from her mother.  I had crushes on boys for as long as I can remember.  It was in 3rd grade when a boy actually liked me back.  K will be in 3rd grade this fall.  She has had several crushes and a few boys who have crushed on her.  It's cute and fun - as long as it stays that way.  But these kids like to act on these crushes.  Holding hands, cuddling, hugging, even kissing.  It was time to put a stop to it.

So, I took K out to lunch today.  Seth was home sick from work so I left J and A with him.  I asked K if she thought she would be married someday.  She was pretty positive that she would get married and even knew who she would marry.  For the last couple of weeks, she has claimed one of the neighbor boys as her boyfriend.  He initially had no feelings for K whatsoever but it was no secret that she liked him.  He refused to claim her as his girlfriend.  Until, he gave his life to Jesus.  Joy overflowed out of him.  I could see the change in his behavior.  And suddenly, he became very sweet to K.  9 years old or not, he is a very sweet "boyfriend."

I asked K how old she thought she would be when she got married.  Her answer:20.  I told her that was 12 years from now.  How could she possibly know that she would marry this neighbor boy in 12 years?  12 years is a LONG time and who knows what could happen between now, and when K turns 20.  We have been wanting to move out west - Wyoming or Idaho - but the Lord has not yet opened that door.  I told K that if we do move, how would she still stay with this boy.  She was pretty confident that no matter what happened, she was going to marry him.

Well, I couldn't convince her otherwise.  So, I pulled out a King size Kit Kat.  I layed out the 8 pieces and said, "This is you.  When you get married, whether it be this boy or not, you want to be able to give your husband all of you.  What you have is special and the more of yourself you can give to your husband, the more he would appreciate it."  I took a piece of Kit Kat and put it aside.  "This is every time you hold hands with a boy."  I took another piece away.  "This is every time you hug a boy."  I took another piece away.  "This is every time you kiss a boy.  Every time you do something with a boy, you give him part of yourself."  I got down to 3 pieces and handed them to her.  "Do you think your husband would want this?"  She looked down at the 3 pieces and shook her head.  As I took each piece away, I wanted to cry.  I know how so many people give away so much of themselves that they have nothing left for their own spouse.  I did not want my daughter to take these things lightly.  I wanted this conversation to make a lasting impression on her.

I gave her the rest of the pieces I had taken and asked her if she thought she still needed to have a boyfriend at this age.  "No, we can just be friends."  Praise the Lord!!  We enjoyed some Kit Kats and headed home.  This is just a reminder to pray for my children.  They are faced with pressures that I didn't face until I was much older.  And I should pray for their future spouses that they, too, would remain pure and be able to give all of themselves to my children when they get married.

So, save your Kit Kat.  Don't give away too many pieces too soon or your future spouse may get nothing.