Rings and Minefields.

Purity Ring:

Definition:	a type of promise ring that also pledges abstinence; also called chastity ring.
Example:	Wearing a purity ring is typically accompanied by a religious vow to practice celibacy until marriage.

If you looked up "purity ring" in the dictionary, this is the definition that you would find. But when I got my purity ring at the age of 12, it meant SO much more than that. It wasn't merely a ring that promised celibacy, or chastity, but purity in all manners. It meant keeping my entire body pure, my heart pure, and my mind pure. It meant allowing my father to have a lot of say in the way I conducted myself around men, and in my eventual courstship/engagement/marriage process.
These were the vows that I made when Dad and I went to a Christian bookstore and picked out a heart shaped ring with a cross on it when I was 12 years old. And wearing the ring is meant to daily remind me of those vows. 

Wedding Ring: 


"Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

These are the traditional vows spoken at a wedding ceremony. The wedding ring is a daily reminder of those vows that were made on the wedding day.  

Personal Commitment Ring:

This kind of ring is one that signifies a personal commitment of some kind. When a person has something specific that they commit to, and they make vows to stay committed to that, they often want some kind of reminder. In a similar fashion to the purity ring or the wedding ring, a personal commitment ring is there as a daily reminder of the vows made. 

So my Mother and I were discussing some of these rings the other night. She recently purchased a commitment ring, but when she felt that she was a failure at keeping her vows, she took the ring off. This resonated with me quite a bit. And I told her this.

There have been times when I have been strongly tempted to take off my purity ring, because I didn't to some measure keep the vows that I had made when I put it on. When I was 14 years old, instead of keeping my heart pure, I gave it away to a young man. I realized after a time what was happening and withdrew myself from the scenario, but for months afterward I felt impure for not keeping my heart completely intact for my future husband. This caused me to wonder if I could continue to wear the purity ring, when I was in a sense no longer pure. 

Then last December I realized that I was(and this is something I am just now sharing freely, as it was quite painful), that I was thinking in ways that were completely impure. My thoughts were not pure and after reading Not Even a Hint by Joshua Harris, I realized that I was dealing with a major issue of lust. I am not going to go into the details, but I have spent almost the last 9 months battling this issue, and though God has given me victory time and time again, there have been days when I no longer felt worthy of wearing my purity ring.

I was telling my mother this, and she nodded in understanding before reminding me of the lyrics of one of our family's favorite songs. 

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

This is a song about marriage. About those times in marriage when people are faced with minefields and storms. When it is harder than they ever would have dreamed, and they find themselves time and time again breaking the vows to love, cherish, care, etc. But then there is that last phrase. But I believe that's what the promise is for. 

The minefields are the reason that you wear the wedding ring. You wouldn't need a constant reminder if keeping your vows was always easy, or if you always stuck to them. The reminder is for when you stumble; that is what the promise is for. 

And my mother communicated to me that the same is true for a purity ring. When I was 12 years old, and I made those vows, I had no idea how hard it would be. I didn't imagine myself giving my heart away, battling the lust of my flesh, or ever feeling unworthy of the ring. It was a lot harder than I dreamed. But that is what the promise is for. I wear the ring so that when those minefields come, I remember my promise, and I make it through. When I am battling my flesh, that reminder is there and it keeps me going. 

So I now realize that wearing my purity ring is even more important in the minefields and the storms than it is when I am fully worthy of it.