Your heart is a rose

Today I'm going to touch on a sensitive subject.
Purity.
{you've probably heard all this before, but stick with me. I want to express my views on this.}

I don't believe the concept of purity itself is what's misunderstood. Nope, not the problem. (and anyone thinks it is, do say so.)
I'm talking about dating.

There is one thing, before I go on, that I would like to make clear. I do not date (at my age that's a little creepy, anyways) and I do not intend to. (Nor do my parents, haha.:) This decision, when voiced, always prompts the same question: "Well, if you're not going to date, what are you going to do?"
Ah ha! Here is where we introduce my good friend, courtship.
Because part of courtship (actually most of it) is still a mystery to me, and I'm too young for it anwyays, I shan't try to explain it to you.

Instead, I want to tell you something.
God has blessed with a gift, and that gift is called purity.
Your heart is a rose, a fragile rose that will crumble if it's pressed too hard.
Dating is messy. And there's a lot of heartache and messed-up relationships that come with it. I'm not telling you that all dating relationships are like that: just a majority.

You can't toss your heart out to just anyone. Because (and this scenario is for girls), if you hop around, dating one boy after the next, each time giving them one of your rose petals--a piece of your heart--eventually all that's left will be the stem.
Is your heart special anymore after it's been tossed around to so many different guys? Will the kiss at the altar be your first...or will you have lost count by then?
(Personally, I have decided not to kiss until my wedding day--but it's different for everyone, and there's no right or wrong answer.)
Once you lose that purity, that rose petal, it's gone. Forever.

{my personal purity ring-sorry it's blurry.}

Jesus will forgive you when you ask him, there's no doubt about that. But wouldn't it be better to avoid all the heartache in the first place?
Why play the dating game...
if it's going to break your heart?
Guard it, my sister. (and brothers.) That thing called your purity is one of the most precious gifts God has given you.
Treasure it.