At the time of this writing it’s February 15th, the day after Valentine’s Day. My favorite Valentine took me to dinner and gave me a beautiful little diamond necklace, which I love (but those little stones are not my best friends, for sure!). Our daughter, Hannah, a senior at Freed Hardeman University came home for the weekend. So we had homemade cookies with red sprinkles, opened the Valentine box on our table and passed out the tiny folded paper cards with holograms or pictures of puppies and kitties on them. We read each personalized message and even had the idea that Caleb, our son, who is away in grad school, could play our games and look at his little gifts by way of I-Chat. That was the best idea since mixing chocolate and peanut butter! We had snow and made real attempts to banish all things depressing from the entire weekend (and that was a feat considering Friday’s shooting at our local University.)
So, for today, don’t expect any deep moral message or insightful comment about current events. I would be overestimating my ability to think you come here for real wisdom or deep insights, anyway. For today, just a simple message about expectations; a journal entry borrowed from Hannah–just a regular day in her life, a regular page in her chronicles, a regular emergence of the chosen daily message from a thousand churning ideas in her busy brain.
For young readers who are still looking for the knight in shining armor, remember that it takes time to pick him out. Don’t choose him when he’s lined up for inspection. Wait until he’s done some time in a real battle. Don’t look so much at the armor and the horse. A white horse and a coat of arms can make any “Joe” look like “the one.” Always remember that the war will one day be over. You want somebody who can stand on his own two feet when the white horse is in the stable. Enough. Here’s what Hannah wrote:
I’m reading a book called “The Romance of Arthur” for my class, The Legend of King Arthur. It’s a compilation of all the historical accounts we have of Arthurian legend. I’m absolutely loving the reading. I’m completely swept away by the tales of chivalry, bravery, true love, deception, devotion, betrayal, loyalty, and so much more–even the battle scenes are exciting to me.
Last night, as I was cramming like it was going out of style for the test I had today, I came across a quote that I had to go back and read a couple of more times because I found it beautiful. Check it out:
“Every knight in Britain who was noted for valor had clothing and arms identical in color, and the women had exquisitely matching garments. They deigned to love no man until he was three times proven in military combat. Thus, the women were made more chaste, and the knights more valiant because of their love of them.”
Beautiful. My eyes began to water as I dreamt of what that must have been like and how much better and more appreciated relationships would be today if people had to work for them—if people set them in high esteem as something to be cherished, reverenced, and placed on a pedestal.
Perhaps I’m old fashioned, but I believe men should prove themselves before I risk losing my heart to them…not in mortal combat or anything like that, but like a book must stand the test of time to become a work of literature, I think a man should stand the test of time in order to own the rights to my heart.
To sum this whole thought up, one of my favorite Bible verses:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
