Faithfulness

An Old Greek Myth:

Once apon a time there lived a beautiful queen named Penelope
who was carefully weaving a white linen roll. (Dont ask me what a white
linen roll is- I would assume it is like a doiley?) It was a gift for her
husband apon his return. (I have no idea why a king would want a doiley...)
For years the king had been fighting in the Trojan War and the queen
anxiously awaited for his return every day. Each and every day Penolope
would say his name over and over again, somehow hoping he would hear the cry
of her aching heart.

One day, many great cheifs and princes, all in search
of a wife, set sail for Ithaca to try to win Penelop's hand. They assured the
lonely queen that the king had died in battle, and it would be best for the
people of Ithaca and for her own protection that she pick one of them to be her
new husband.

Penelope answered, "Heroes and most honored princes, I
refuse to believe what you say. I am certain that my noble
husband lives, and I must faithfully keep his kingdom for him until he returns.
I am weaving a white linen roll for him even now."

The princes and cheifs refused to return home and daily reminded her of her need
for a husband and Ithaca's need for a king.

Weeks passed by, and still Penelope did not bend but continued to failfully weave
her linen roll in hopes of the kings return. The cheifs and princes tried
every possible persuasian, but to no avail. The group of hopeful suitors
moved into the palace and they refused to depart until Penelope choose one
of them to marry.

A weary and reluctant Penelope finally agreed to
choose a new husband as soon as she finished weaving her white linen roll, if
the king had not returned by then. Weeks passed, and she kept weaving. However,
by night she would secretly unravel all the thread she had woven during the day.
Eventually she was discovered.

A leader amoung them, named Agelaus, called the assembly together and
addressed Penelope in a loud voice: "Queen Penelope,
your stubbornness has left us no choice but to take this matter into our own
hands. we have seen your trickery in delaying the
compeletion of your linen roll, and we will stand for it no longer. Finish it by
tomorrow and select your new husband by noon, or we will choose him for you! We
will not wait another day."

The next afternoon all the suitors
waited to hear Penelope's chosen one. Just as she entered the banquet
hall, a strange beggar quietly crept into the assembly. His head was hidden
beneath a tattered hood, and a ragged cloak was wrapped around his decrepit
body. He hobbled to the back of the hall quietly, unnoticed save for a few
mocking sneers from the suitors he passed. Penelope began to speak,
capturing the attention of all the present.

"Cheifs and Princes," said Penelope with a knot of
greif in her throat, "we will leave this decision to fate. Behold, I am
holding the great bow of my husband, the king.
Each of you must try your strength in bending it, and I will choose the one
amongst you who can shoot the most accurate."

"Agreed!" cried the suitors and they lined up to test their strength.

One after the other struggled to bend the
great bow. Then losing patience, each of the gallant nobles threw it to the
ground and stode away.

"Only a giant could bend that bow of iron!" they moaned.

"Perhaps the filthy old beggar would like to test his strength," one yelled with a sneer.

At that, the begger rose from his chair and moved with halting steps to the
head of the hall.

"You old fool!" the suitors called out in derision as the old travelor
picked up the great bow.

Suddenly, a remarkable change came over the stranger.
The decrepit travel straightened his back and rose to his full height, and
even in a beggars rags it was impossible to notice that this weary traveler
was every inch a king. Then, without effort, he bent the
bow and strung it as everyone in the great hall looked on in astonishment.
The king had returned!

Penelope ran to her hero and embraced him.
Then with the voice of an angel, she said, "I have
faithfully kept your kingdom, my nobel king!" She tenderly presented him
with the white linen roll. "I spent years weaving this gift in hopes of your
return. On the day I finished it, I was told to choose a husband." Then
placing a tender kiss on his soiled check, she said, "I choose you."

Isnt faithfullness beautiful? Unfortunately, if Penelope were a woman of today, she would have run off with the first cute prince that came her way. In our microwavable, fast-food generation, our desires can be answered with a click of a button. Asking you to wait for true love and actually having you listen is just as likely as my throwing a side of beef to a hungry lion and convincing him to put it in a Tupperware container and save it for tomorrow. We are used to getting everything we want as soon as we want it. To be honest- not many of us actually want to wait.

Most of us do not think about how our decisions today will affect us in the long run- but we need to contemplate these things! No matter how many boyfriends or girlfriends we have, no matter how many times we hear or say the words "I love you," it will always be empty and leave you wanting for more. BUT when you put God in the center of your world, you will be able to wait for your true love. It is difficult, but it will be worth it! We need to be faithfull to our future spouses. What if you found out that your future spouse has had sex with a dozen people or that they have already said "I love you" to a number of companions? I would find that to be devestating news- wouldnt you?

I encourage you to be faithfull to your Mr. or Mrs. Wonderful.

-C