Lately, I have been seeing young women with new hairdos and lined eyebrows and young fellas with fresh haircuts. So that probably means that it’s that time of the year again, prom season. For those of you who have experienced this instrumental part of adolescence, you can understand why this is such a big deal to high school students. And although I saw it as a glorified dance, which it is, it was still a pretty big deal to me, too.
It was my senior year and it was already understood who I was going with. She was excited about this day and she went through great lengths to purchase the only dress that she wanted to wear that evening which was delivered from New York. I handled the transportation and dinner plans; we were chauffeured in my uncle’s Jaguar and we shared our first sushi experience at the Drunken Fish restaurant at Westport.
Not to sound cliché but that night was magical for both of us. My date was absolutely radiant and I’m pretty sure our family members could see the sparks between us. So after the music was stopped and the mochi was cleaned off of our plate, we wound up back at her parents’ place. With both of us pooped from the day’s events, after five minutes in of watching the new Honeymooners movie, we passed out.
Now, some of you may be wondering why this girl’s parents let me spend the night at her house. To clear some of this up, I did spend the night, but we fell asleep on the couch in the family room with all of our clothing on (of course not in what we wore to prom). Also, my lovely date dropped me off at my place early the next morning. Almost a year later, my date and I got married. Nice.
Now, this is my path. I don’t expect for anyone else to do the same thing as I did. Having an understanding of my relationship with my date, her parents, my mother, and most importantly, my God, helped me to make decisions that night that wouldn’t make my life turn for the worst. Not that I’m so much better than everyone else, but others may not be able to practice as much self control.
Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I think a lot of young people mistake prom night for “Give It Up” night. I am going to say this bluntly: If you consider yourself a child of God and you plan on attending your high school’s prom or someone else’s, don’t take this as an opportunity to shed your purity i.e. by having sex or doing things that lead to sex i.e. weed, alcohol, Xstasy, or foreplay (yes, foreplay).
I promise you, you are going to need the Holy Spirit to guide you along the way in preparation for this big night and during. Ask him who you should go with. Ask him what you all should do afterwards. Ask him what you should wear that night, preferably something which will not make your date wonder what you look like not wearing it. Ask him who should be in your entourage (sometimes your peers are the problem). Ask him what type of moves you should be doing (he’s not going to tell you to shake your rump).
Should you do these things, your night should run smooth like butter. Now, if the Lord told you not to go, then you probably shouldn’t. Let every man be a liar and God’s word be Truth. He is probably trying to protect you from something or someone. The thief cometh to steal, kill, and destroy. You think he’s going to clock out on the night of your prom? Please.
The bottom line here is to remain chaste on prom night, not just because God said so, but also because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, you are an example to the world of how a human should conduct themselves, and you may be someone’s spouse someday and you owe it to them to hold on to your purity. So when you get dressed for your special night, don’t forget to put on the whole armor as well. That means not neglecting the part where you have to gird your loins (your genital area) with the belt of Truth.
