Leighton DeGoede/age 22, college/ Topic #2. What would you tell your future children about the value of abstinence before marriage? Well kids, the short story is, “it was worth it.” Just look at your mother, she’s a pretty awesome lady isn’t she? So now you’re convinced? You’re not satisfied with that?! It’s a long story. Alright, alright, everybody circle round then. Back when I was as short, skinny and shy as you can imagine, yep, more shy than even Jimmy, my mom and dad told me about the importance of purity and abstinence before marriage. I don’t remember exactly what they said, but I got the distinct impression that girls meant trouble, like just be careful not to get too close. So I was wary. Why, in elementary and middle school I was so scared of talking to girls that if one ever spoke to me directly and it wasn’t about an assignment or some project I would feel so uncomfortable that I wouldn’t know what to say. Yep, I was a special case. It took me a long time to learn how to talk to girls. They were all so pretty and I always felt funny inside. But I’ll tell you the first secret I learned: I had to think of them like they were my sister! Simple, huh? I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me earlier because I had two little sisters myself and they were girls of course and I played with them and we had a natural good time. Well, finally in 10th grade I was able talk to girls without getting all discombobulated. That was also the time that I became a lot more involved in church and I started being like an older brother to the youth group. As I began to really care about my brothers and sisters and how they were doing, I naturally got out of myself more. So that was the first secret I learned. If I just treated girls like they were my sisters and not like a girlfriend or anything like that, it felt right. The more I grew up, the more I saw the value of keeping it that way, just brother sister relationships. My friends at school struggled because they didn’t do that. Many of them started to play the silly game of dating and getting girlfriends. But it was never long before things would get tough and they’d break up. The more they dated, the less likely they were to really trust the next girl, and the less committed they were to the relationship. It was like my parents said: they kept sticking their tape on a girl when they dated, and when they broke up they pulled it off, and eventually it would stop sticking. Now I don’t know about you, but I like fresh sticky tape that does the job, so don’t waste your tape if you know what I mean. Looking back I feel sorry for all my friends because they were trying to find their “one true love” but their parents weren’t going to match them so they were going about it all the wrong way. My dad even told me that for him it was kind of scary before he met True Parents because he used to think to himself “oh man, all the best ones are going to get taken.” But then True Parents matched him to your grandma so everything was okay for him too. Actually, getting matched is the greatest thing. All I had to worry about was trying to be the best son and brother I could be. I knew my mom and dad loved me a lot, and I knew that God loved me just as much so I felt sure they would do their best. Plus, and you can trust me on this one because I’m your dad now and I know, parents always know their kids real well, and my mom and dad knew exactly what kind of lady I needed to create the super ultimate family. And that there is your mom! I didn’t have to worry about who it was going to be, because I knew it was going to be someone incredible. God has someone special in store for each one of you too. Honestly, when I got matched to your mother, I felt more blessed than I could have ever imagined before that moment. I didn’t believe it for the first few days, and I even wanted to do a 40 day prayer condition just to make sure it was what God wanted and not just me and her or just our parents. Now you know why it’s real important that you stay abstinent before marriage, because then you’ll save up all your love for your future spouse, and it’ll be so awesome that you’ll be grateful to God forever. Now look, it’s way past your bedtime! Alright, everybody up! First one under the covers get’s a kiss from mommy. You like that better than daddy’s beard don’t you? Don’t forget to brush your teeth!