Hello to all you awesome young people!

I was 14 when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. He washed me clean and I had a new start! Somehow, before Christ, I managed to remain a virgin through that time of drugs, alcohol, skipping school and extreme rebellion to my parents. When I met Jesus, my whole life changed. I even had a beauty that came from the inside out. God’s love began to shine through me to others.

Sometimes I even found that young men were attracted to that light in me, and didn’t even understand that themselves. Do you know what I mean girls? I mean, you are growing in your faith, having the JOY of the Lord, and you seem to attract people to you. Here’s a joke for you, “even bugs have enough sense to come around the light!”

Seriously though, when I got saved, I had a boyfriend. He wanted to get into my pants but I never let him. Then, when I got saved, I prayed and asked the Lord if I was supposed to continue in that relationship? I really felt the Lord saying to me, “I can do MUCH better than this, you just wait and see!”

So, I broke up with the guy, and laid down that part of my life for God to be in control. The very next weekend, at a youth meeting, there was this guy who showed up. He loved Jesus, was tall, well-built, handsome AND played the guitar and sang! Guess what? We hit it off and he asked me to go out with him! It was a sweet little romance. Pure, like God would want. We were friends first and had the goosebumps to go along with it!

That wasn’t long, and it was like the Lord showed me that he CAN in fact, do much better than me. Throughout the rest of my teens and into my 20’s I made a decision that I was going to keep the gift of virginity for my husband. It wasn’t easy and trust me, there were times I could easily have given that gift away with a guy I thought I loved and cared about. I did date, and I always tried to make sure that I didn’t find myself in a compromising situation. God was so faithful to me that, a few times when I could have given it up, the guy was the one who would stop it because he knew my standards and committment. Can you believe it? It’s true. God can even do that!

Any of you who know Pastor Jerry Lackey-knows God did real good for me! He is exactly the ONE I needed in my life for us to fulfill our destinies together! And best of all, I had a precious gift to give him on our wedding night! I am so glad I waited for my one and only!

But be on your toes girls-and guys! Surround yourself with people who will support your decision to be pure. It is a lot of work, and there is a line that you, yourself have to decide NOT to cross.

Take up the challenge. Wherever you are in your life, even if you have already had sex. Do it for yourself. Do it for your mate. God is a God of forgiveness and restoration. It’s not too late. Reach for Life! Abstain, be faithful, and commit to Christ and He will help you all the way!

*This was a video script I wrote today for our youth in Northern Botswana at the Annual Reach4Life Event which promotes abstinence before marriage and faithfulness in marriage. To see the video click here. Visit www.lovebotswana.org for more information.