Glen - Who Has Your Heart?

Here is another post by Glen. He will be writing a post for us once a month...I'm sure you will all enjoy them. I really enjoy this one! : ) Please feel free to contact Glen through his email: gcuthbert35@cogeco.ca

Who Has Your Heart?

by Glen Cuthbert

It was finally here-Anna's wedding day, the day she had dreamed about and planned for months. The small, picturesque church was crowded with friends and family.

Sunlight poured through the stained-glass windows, and the gentle music of a string quartet filled the air. Anna walked down the aisle toward David. Joy surged within her. This was the moment for which she had waited so long. He gently took her hand, and they turned toward the altar.

But as the minister began to lead Anna and David through their vows, the unthinkable happened. A girl stood up in the middle of the congregation, walked quietly to the altar, and took David's other hand. Another girl approached and stood next to the first, followed by another. Soon, a chain of six girls stood by him as he repeated his vows to Anna.

Anna felt her lip begin to quiver as tears welled up in her eyes. "Is this some kind of joke?" she whispered to David.

"I'm ... I'm sorry, Anna," he said, staring at the floor.

"Who are these girls, David? What is going on?" she gasped.

"They're girls from my past," he answered sadly. "Anna, they don't mean anything to me now ... but I've given part of my heart to each of them."

"I thought your heart was mine," she said.

"It is, it is," he pleaded. "Everything that's left is yours."

A tear rolled down Anna's cheek. Then she woke up.

I was floored when I read this story in "I Kissed Dating Goodbye". It left me wondering, "How many times have I given my heart away?"

Have you ever asked yourself the same question? Every one of us has had people in our past. Have you given your heart to them? Once you give your heart to someone, you never get all of it back. If we keep giving our hearts away to every guy/girl that catches our interest, then how can we expect to have anything left for the person that God wants us to marry?

So what can we do about it? Well, I've found Someone Who I can give my heart to that promises to give it all back when His timing is right. Let me ask you this: Does He have your heart?

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

A Little Love Story

Okay so I'm sure most of you know by now that I am a bit of a 'hopeless romantic'...and some people would say I'm not just a bit of one, but that I am completely and wholly a hopeless romantic. But we won't listen to those people. ; ) But I will admit that I do love to read good clean sappy love stories, and watch sappy love stories. I just love that kind of stuff...I cry over movies and books all the time. I'm just a sappy kinda person I guess. : ) So I'm going to share this cute little love story with y'all.

I read this in the book "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric & Leslie Ludy and I thought it was so cute! I even told it to my family that night at dinner...and of course they all said something about me being a hopeless romantic. lol But anyways, I hope y'all enjoy this. (oh, and its a true story as well!) And I'm going to try and get back into posting on here too. : )

"Lieutenant John Blandford was in New York City at Grand Central station, and he looked up at the bog clock. It said five til six. His heart was racing. At exactly six o'clock he was going to meet the girl whom he thought he was in love with but had never met. This is what had happened...

While he was in training as a fighter pilot during World War II, he happened to go to the library and checked out a book. As he flipped through the pages, he noticed that someone had made notes in the margins. Reading the insightful observations in beautiful handwriting, he said to himself, I would love to meet whoever wrote these notes; they seem to be so kind, gentle, and wise.

He looked in the front of the book and saw a name: Hollis Meynell, New York City. He decided to try and find her. With the help of a New York City phone book, he found her address and wrote her a letter. The day after he wrote her, he was shipped overseas to fight in the war.

Surprisingly, Hollis answered John's letter. The two corresponded back and forth throughout the war. "Her letters were just like the marvelous notes she had written in that book," John recalled. "She was so comforting and so helping."

One time John confessed in a letter that he had been scared to death when he'd found himself surrounded by enemy planes. Hollis had assured him that all brave men are afraid at times. She suggested that the next time he felt fear, he should imagine her voice reciting, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."

As they continued to write, John began to realize that he was having romantic feelings toward Hollis. He wrote, "Send me a picture," and she declined saying, "If your feeling for me has any reality, what I look like won't matter."

Still, he was intrigued by this woman and longed to meet her in person. Finally that day came when he was able to return to the States on leave. He mentioned in one of his letters that he was coming home and would like to take her to dinner. She arranged to meet him at Grand Central station at 6:00 p.m. by the big clock. "You'll know who I am because I'll be wearing a red rose," she wrote.

At last the day had come. John waited nervously to finally meet the girl he thought he loved. Then his heart leaped as a young woman approached, her slim figure capped off by an attractive face framed with curling blond hair. In her pale-green suit she looked fresh and lively, and her flower-blue eyes sparkled.

He moved toward her without realizing she was not wearing a rose. She welcomed his approach with a quiet, "Going my way, soldier?" But as he took another step, he realized that just beyond her stood another woman--a plump, graying woman with a red rose adorning her rumpled coat.

He stopped cold, utterly torn between following the winsome young beauty in the green suit and keeping his commitment to the woman whose letters had so uplifted him during the war.

Abruptly, he made his decision. With unhesitating strides he approached the plump woman, whose face beamed with a warm smile. "I'm Lieutenant John Blandford, and you--you must be Miss Meynell. I'm so glad you could meet me. Would you join me for dinner?"

The woman's smile grew broader with what appeared to be quiet amusement. "I don't know what this is all about, Son," she said. The she pointed toward a figure in a green suit, who was now nearly out of sight. "That young lady gave me this rose and asked me to wear it while walking through the train station. She said that if you asked me to go with you, I was to let you know she'd be waiting for you in the restaurant across the street."

"She said it was some kind of test."

"When Dreams Come True"

Title:

"When Dreams Come True"

By:

Eric & Leslie Ludy

About This Book:

(taken from the back cover)

"This daringly real, intensely moving love story gives vision and hope to everyone in search of a love worth waiting for. In their bestseller When God Writes Your Love Story, Eric and Leslie Ludy described the breathtaking perfection of God's plans for each young person and offered fresh guidelines for being Christlike in relationships with the opposite sex. When Dreams Come True shares the Ludys' personal story, illustrating how they lived out the principles of the first book in their own romance and marriage."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You know, I have read many stories of people who have had godly relationships...but I'd have to say that the Ludy's story might just beat all. This book starts out when they are both children and goes all the way until they are married. This book was a great blessing to me. You know how you often wonder if anyone else out there feels the way you do about relationships and the whole waiting on God thing? Well, I'll tell you this...you know while reading this book that Eric and Leslie completely understand how you feel and where you're coming from. They were already there...and God led them thru it. You can see the hand of God on their relationship from the start...it is an amazing love story that only God could have written! This was one of the few books that I have read in the last week...and God has taught me a lot thru them. I would strongly encourage y'all to get ahold of some of the Ludy's books and read them...and while reading them, ask God to open your heart and show you what you need.

Links:

Eric & Leslie Ludy's Website

Their Online Store

Their Books On Amazon.com

Guest Post 4 - Kelly & Katy: A Courtship In Progress

Ok, so I think this is going to be my last guest post for now. I hope to have a few more within the next few weeks, but we will see. : ) This one was written by my dear friend Katy and I am sooooo excited for y'all to read it!! Please be sure to go over and check out Katy's blog when you're done reading, I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do. : ) You can also go over and check out Kelly's blog, I'm sure he'd love to have some visitors as well. : )

Kelly & Katy:

A Courtship In Progress

"It all started on April 18, 2008 with a simple "random" comment on my blog. Kelly had been surfing blogs and had listed as one of his favorite movies "Last Flight Out" and I guess when you click on the link it will take you to other blogs that have that listed as and out of the 88 blogs of however many thousands there are on blogspot he clicked on my blog and commented on a post I had done about John Piper and honoring parents. The God thing was that I had not put "Last Flight Out" as my favorite movie Abby had (she had a blog on the same profile accidentally and changed it) and I had just a few days before considered changing my profile but then decided against it. So that was kind of a God thing :) So we started commenting back and forth which turned into long IM conversations, which lasted hours.


In October 2008 Kelly told me that we needed to not talk for awhile and broke off almost all contact for about 10 months due to some things that he needed to prove to his parents. When we started talking again in May 2009 I was not really ready to trust him at all. I had been hurt once before and I just wasn't ready to take that chance again. I was relived to know that his parents knew about me and we started talking on the phone. I did not have any feelings for him at this time (or at least I told myself that...truth to be told I kind of buried them away and tried to forget them). While he always had been spiritually mature in some ways he had not become a man yet and I was definitely not the woman I needed to be either.

So we talked on the phone a few times in the spring and then I headed off to camp and he headed of to 3 1/2 months in Papua New Guinea leading a team of all older guys in building a ministry center for To Every Tribe Ministries (the mission board we as a family were planning on going to the mission field with).
As I said before, I had had feelings for him before but I did not really have any feelings for him beside friendship for him during this time. Although I did pray that the Lord would take him from boyhood into manhood during his time in PNG I didn't really give him much thought the entire summer. I guess he did a lot of thinking about me though :) When he came back he called me and within the first two minutes of our conversation I realized that I was not talking to the boy that I had been before but instead to a GOD CENTERED man that had just...emerged. It was really amazing!

We started talking again and I started to really struggle with feelings that I had thought were non-existent except now things were definitely God centered it was really hard. So I started just surrendering him to the Lord and my desires to the Lord. Then, all the sudden Jen had been talking to him about his part in the American Gospel Tour and she said that there was no way she was going to invite him on it unless we had met him in person. The next thing I know he and his brother were coming out to visit us on November 10th to meet and discuss the Gospel Tour. Now truly he was coming out to discuss the gospel tour.

So three weeks before I was going to meet him in person I was a wreck. Then I realized that I HAD BEEN surrendering my singleness to the Lord BUT with lots of strings attached. So I came before the Lord one day and told Him that I was not only surrendering my singleness for the present but for the rest of my life EVEN IF it meant that I was going to be single for the rest of my life. In fact, I chose to expect it. Once I made that decision my whole attitude changed and I began jealously guard my heart. Once I started that every time I would start to think if only or stuff like that I would instantly give it to the Lord and try to get re-focused on Him.

So the 1st two days that Kelly and his brother Mike were at our house were horrible for me! Not because of them at all in fact Kelly was everything I had ever dreamed that he would be and more but I just was really quiet and not crazy outgoing and I just felt like I had disappointed him. Plus Danny and Abby are crazy outgoing so I just really felt bad (and a little bit jealous lol). The ironic part is that God completely confirmed to him that he should go ahead and ask my parents if he could pursue a courtship relationship (dating with a purpose of...marriage) during the first two days! I actually asked him about it and was like "How on earth did you know I didn't even talk?" and he told me that I didn't have to talk because he just observed and knew that the Lord wanted him to move forward.
In the meanwhile, I have absolutely NO CLUE and as the week progressed I was working overtime to keep my feelings for him (because yeah...I had a lot!) surrendered to the Lord.

One thing that the Lord had been laying on my heart the last six months before Kelly even was at all back in the picture was that I was supposed to go and serve the Lord in the foreign mission field. I had accepted that that probably meant I was supposed to be single so I was just moving towards that goal already. The whole week Kelly had been asking me questions about missions and how I felt about surrendering all to the Lord and being willing to serve Him in a hostile and/or persecuted area. I had absolutely no qualms about that and told him what the Lord had laid on my heart concerning missions. Little did I know that he was checking off qualities (because he is going to be a missionary to PNG).

So the last day rolls around and it was just not a good day for me. I felt like there was so much left unsaid. 10 minutes before I had to leave for work I really felt like I needed to let him know that my #1 fear about going to the mission field was that people would think that I was going just because he was going WHICH WAS NOT THE CASE AT ALL but I was afraid that people would think it would be. So I blurted it out to him like 10 minutes before I left and all he said was "It took you all week to tell me that?" To which I replied "Well, I kinda just got the courage up." And then that was it! OMW, I was a WRECK at work that day. I was almost in tears the whole time so finally at one point I just went into the kitchen, physically raised my hands to the Lord and surrendered the whole situation to Him.
So then on Wednesday night Kelly called and we talked for about 2 hours and I walked away from that conversation accepting the fact that while I had feelings for him I needed to just wait and we both needed to guard our hearts and be really really careful to honor the Lord in everything.

SO on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 1:04pm (I know how sad is that lol) Kelly called me. I was on the way home from babysitting and Abby was driving. So I was just rambling on COMPLETELY oblivious when all the sudden he goes "So I have been thinking a lot about our conversation last night." I started worrying. I was sure I had said something that I shouldn't have so I am thinking up this amazing apology in my mind when all the sudden he goes into telling me that he knew he was really buddy buddy with Abby and Jen but that it was just because he was trying to be careful so he is saying all this stuff and I am SO OBLIVIOUS STILL so all the sudden the phone cuts out and then it comes back in and by this time we are home and Abby and Danny had gotten out of the car. So all the sudden he says "I have a question to ask you." And I said (COMPLETELY oblivious) "Yeah?" And he goes, "I have already talked to your parents and they have given me their blessing to ask you if you would be willing to enter into a courtship relationship with me?" All the sudden I was having a hard time breathing. The first words to come out of my mouth were NOT "Yes I would love to enter into a courtship relationship with you." NOPE, not me! Instead they were "Are you serious?" I was so shocked I seriously thought I was dreaming! When he assured me that he was indeed incredibly serious I got really quiet (again still working on the whole breathing thing). He very nicely said, "Well you don't have to give me an answer now." And I am thinking: I would really like to give you an answer now but I just can't seem to get all the things I want to say from my brain to my mouth! I think I said something about how I had been praying for months about this THEN I asked "Can I give you your answer now?" To which he replied "Yes" (and he sounded a bit relived I wonder why? lol). So when I could breathe again I said "Yes, I would love to enter into a courtship relationship with you." I think that next thing I said was "So, does this mean you are my boyfriend now?" :) And I am so glad he is!

So that is my story...the shortened version. God is just so good and it has been absolutely amazing how much I have grown in the Lord in the short time we have been in a relationship! I have realized that more now then ever I have to jealously guard my relationship with Jesus. Keeping Christ first and my relationship with Kelly second. It has definitely been a transition but I am so excited to see what the Lord has for us next! The neat thing too is having the blessing of all four parents :) He definitely went about it in the right way!

So right now we are moving forward trusting the Lord and taking things day by day. Our hearts desire is to bring honor and glory to the Lord through our relationship because when it comes down to it, our lives should be about Him and not about us."

Guest Post 3 - Amber & Marshall's Story

Guest post 3 is here!! Yay!! This is the story of how my friend Amber and her husband Marshall met and married. I have known Amber for probably close to a year now, and have so enjoyed getting to know her! I can't believe how many kindred spirits God has let me "meet" on blogger. Please take the time to go look at Amber's blog: "Joyful Homemaker" And she also has facebook, so you can friend her there as well. : ) Enjoy reading...

Once upon a time… in the fellowship hall of church one afternoon of preparing for the missions meeting… Some of the ladies and I were sitting at a table chatting about this and that when Ms. Ellen happened to mention that I should think about marrying her nephew- Marshall. He had just moved to Gainesville a few months prior and had come to church once or twice since. I told her that was ridiculous because he was not even saved and had not been to church for awhile. I didn’t even know anything about him other than his name was Marshall, and he probably was not saved
The subject was dropped, and I did not think anything else about it until “Lo and behold!” the next morning he came walking into church! I thought- “It does not mean anything! Just a coincidence”. Well, Pastor preached one of the toughest messages on Christian dress standards that he has ever preached. He just knew that Marshall (and all the rest of us) would never be back. However, at the end of service Marshall stood up and said that he wanted to join the church! We all were shocked! (To put it mildly) Pastor talked to him and told him to keep coming to see if this was really what he wanted. (And to see if he could\would stick it out) Well, Marshall came here and there- mostly Sunday mornings. We prayed for him, but I was not too concerned with whether or not I was supposed to marry him. I knew that salvation must come first. Also, I was only 16 years old. Definitely too young.
Anyway, after several weeks of coming here and there, Marshall came on a Wednesday night (June 25th to be exact). After service he told Ms. Rita that he had gotten saved. She went and got Pastor and eventually the news made it to the rest of us. So then I started kinda thinking that maybe this fella -“Marshall” was my Prince Charming. I kept it to myself, but prayed about it. I did not want to get emotionally attached when really there was no reason for me to. Marshall had not even noticed me.
Marshall kept coming to church- totally oblivious to girls, and most especially me. Throughout the next few months I found out that he was Marshall Reeves, 25 years old, and his birthday was in January. A few people had caught on that maybe I was supposed to marry Marshall. I also found out that Marshall was a Jr., which was very important to me (long story). Then I happened to hear that he had been in the Marines- also very important to me!
He was baptized in November of 2003. Since he lived on the lake, he was baptized in the lake and we had a service and food at his house. This was just great news for the conspiring females that wanted us married. Well, his house was just too cute, and while we were there I could tell that my mother and Ms. Ellen were imagining what I would look like “setting up housekeeping in here”.
About 10 months passed and God started dealing with Marshall about getting married. Marshall did not really have anyone in particular in mind, but he decided to talk to Pastor. Pastor gave Marshall some guidelines to go by in choosing a mate, and God made things very clear.
On October 7th 2004 Marshall called and asked if he could come over to spend the evening. He came and we had pizza with my family, then they all went and watched a movie and Marshall and I sat at the table and talked for a little while. We went out here and there for the next few weeks.
On October 26th Marshall sent a dozen roses to me. Of course, I was on cloud nine the whole day! We went to visit my grandparents and Marshall met us there. Before he left he asked me to walk outside with him. He then proposed very sweetly, on bended knee! I don’t remember all that he said- I was just so glad to hear him say “I love you”!!!! Of course, I said “Yes”, and he put the ring on my finger. (We had both picked it out some days back.)
We set the date for April 16th, then realized that there was no way, and no reason for us to wait that long, so we moved the date up to February 5th. We were married on Saturday February 5th, at 2:00 in the afternoon. I walked down the aisle to a string quartet playing Canon in D, and he cried. (He’s so sweet!) Pastor preached, but I don’t remember much of that. (Do you blame me?!?!) We started our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, then came home and have been continuing our honeymoon ever since.


I thank God for putting us together. He knew exactly what we needed, and how to get us together. To God be the glory! Great things He has done!

**Next Guest Post Coming Soon!!**

Guest Post 2 - Courtship: A New Journey

Yippie! Guest post #2 is here! I have SOOO enjoyed doing theses guest posts! This one is by Rebecca over at "A Rather Unusual Maiden For God" (there is a link to her site at the end of the post). I have so enjoyed getting to know Rebecca over the last several months! Her blog is always an encouragement to me. When I first started reading her blog she was not yet courting Justin, so it has been so amazing to read about their journey for the start. And I'm sure you will enjoy this post greatly! So without farther ado...

Courtship: A New Journey.

My journey on Courtship began on March 20th 2009. How it all began is quite the tale
December 10th 2008, the college at my church was having a Christmas Banquet.
It was a hard time for me, because my best friend of 11 years had just moved to a different state, and I missed her a lot I didn’t know many other college girls, so I was lonely. Long story short, I attended the banquet next to a courting couple. I didn’t know these two very well. What was “worse” was that I was facing an empty chair.

Little did I know what was about to happen...for God had a “reserved” sign on that chair
;) I see a hand on the chair, someone asks, “May I sit with you?” I look up to see a college guy, a sophomore student- (one I had at least known the name of for a year )- Justin M. I said, “yes”...and that was how it all began.

I think it interesting that for one entire year we both at least knew who the other person was, but never really knew what was about to happen We had never really talked before that banquet... some people joke that we haven’t stopped talking since

Every courtship is different, Justin and I along with both of our parents decided to have the “no touch policy” rule, always have a chauffeur, etc. One thing we also have is something called, “Open Honesty” (we call it “total” honesty too.)

Even though we have chosen to court, and do things God’s way; the world’s dating methods and philosophy still infiltrates. Open Honesty is based on God’s word.
James 5:16 says
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Basically the world says, “when you are dating, put your best foot forward, keep your faults hidden,”
But in Open Honesty, we do talk about our faults to each other. Since the point of courting is marriage at the end, why not be honest? We have talked about how we deal with anger, personal fears, worrying, etc. As well as struggles.
Justin recently told me about his struggle (the world certainly is hard on our guys) He wanted to tell me about this particular struggle for a while, but was worried about how to bring it up. But there was no need for worry, as God totally prepared the whole conversation We girls are great at sharing our struggles and problems, but guys do find it harder, especially when it is with the one they love so much. I’m very, very, very ( ) glad he shared his struggle with me. Trust is so beautiful to have I treasure the ability to know that I can share struggles and problems with him too, and know that he will not judge me for them, but pray for me and with me
Girls, we can do our share to help our guys with their struggles PRAY for them And if you want to know a really great way to help, visit this site...

http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/

Open Honesty isn’t just for problems We also discuss so many other things, fun things too We talk about our preferences, standards, likes and dislikes, and opinions. We have had many talks about food likes and dislikes (they were hilarious ) Justin is now determined that he will someday get me to eat onions (I do not like onions by the way ) We have talked about raising children, running a home, driving, coupons, writing books, and on and on

I can not praise God enough for all his blessings upon this courtship, it is really wonderful to see how He has been leading it It is worth it to wait for the one He has created for you I remember what it was like to wonder, “Is there really someone out there for me? How will I know when I have found them?” It was a difficult time, but it doesn’t need to be God does everything for His glory, and He will make sure how you meet that special someone will bring Him great glory And it is very exciting to be apart of bringing glory to our wonderful Savior

God bless,
~Rebecca

A Rather Unusual Maiden for God

**The picture above is Rebecca and Justin.**

Isaac and Rebekah's Courtship

I LOVE to read this chapter! One of the greatest stories of courtship in the Bible! So I thought I'd post it for y'all to read. : ) I know its a bit long, but I think it's important to know how God wants a courtship to be. You will notice that Isaac's father had more to do with the courtship that just advising, he was a huge part of it! And I also love how Rebekah covered her face when she saw Isaac...even then she knew it was important to be modest before her future husband. I also like where it says she 'lighted off' the camel...I guess she was a bit excited huh? ; ) Well, I hope y'all enjoy reading this, and please leave a comment with any thoughts you might have. : )

^{Genesis 24}

¹And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. ²And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh. ³And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: ⁴But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. ⁵And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? ⁶And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. ⁷The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. ⁸And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. ⁹And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. ¹⁰And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. ¹¹And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. ¹²And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. ¹³Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: ¹⁴And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. ¹⁵And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. ¹⁶And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. ¹⁸And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. ¹⁹And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. ²⁰And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. ²¹And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. ²²And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; ²³And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? ²⁴And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. ²⁵She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. ²⁶And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. ²⁷And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren. ²⁸And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things. ²⁹And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. ³⁰And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. ³¹And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. ³²And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. ³³And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. ³⁴And he said, I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. ³⁶And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. ³⁷And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: ³⁸But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. ³⁹And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. ⁴⁰And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: ⁴¹Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. ⁴²And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: ⁴³Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; ⁴⁴And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son. ⁴⁵And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. ⁴⁶And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. ⁴⁷And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. ⁴⁸And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. ⁴⁹And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. ⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. ⁵¹Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. ⁵²And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. ⁵³And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. ⁵⁴And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. ⁵⁵And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. ⁵⁶And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. ⁵⁷And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. ⁵⁸And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. ⁵⁹And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. ⁶⁰And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. ⁶¹And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. ⁶²And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. ⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. ⁶⁵For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. ⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. ⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.