I just finished reading Waiting for Her Isaac by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Castleberry with my 12 year old daughter. It was very enjoyable to read a fictional story with her on courtship to begin introducing the idea.
The beginning of the book was more about the daughter learning to trust God with her life when things were not going how she would have liked. One example was her family moving away from all of her friends and church that she so loved. In the end you see God's hand in all of it.
Towards the end of the book, you delve into the courtship relationship. Seeing how the parents interacted with the courtship process was very valuable. Courtship may seem to some as legalistic or old-fashioned, but to me the example set in the book was showing how comfortable, safe, and full of wonderful relationship a courtship can be for the whole family. Surrounding the relationship with prayer and seeking God's will is what I want for my daughters someday, as well as quality time with their courtee. Being able to discuss the important things in life and expectations the couple may have for married life was very refreshing. It was such a stark contrast from the Hollywood romance which can be so superficial and unrealistic and most often would lead one to divorce because of the lack of a solid foundation.
My daughter on her own accord has now asked to read Before You Meet Prince Charming which focuses on walking in purity and living for the Lord before He brings your mate along, if He should choose to do so. I think this a great next step to continue the encouragement of purity, which seems to naturally lead to the idea of courtship.
Here are some other titles on courtship by the Castleberry Family: Jeff McLean: His Courtship (A courtship story of a young man!), The Courtship of Sarah McLean, and Journey of the Heart (a book for those still waiting for a spouse).
Be sure to check out our category of Courtship and Marriage for more titles on this subject.
2 comments:
Do each of these "courtship" situations resemble a "trial" relationship? In other words, is there a lack of commitment that allows either party to disengage?
Kurt,
I hope I understand your question. In this book, both parties were seeking the Lord as well as their parents and did not committ that right away this was "the one", but waited to get to know each other better and find out how each felt about important topics. After time and much prayer, both parties felt it was God's will as well as the parents. So, they were committed to pursuing relationship to find out if they should be together, but no one was forced to be in the courtship or stay in it. I hope this helps.
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