Play it safe this prom season

By By Michelle Blaylock, Mom’s Corner
Dear Readers,
Pretty dresses, expensive hair styles, tuxedos, flowers. What does it all add up to? No, not a wedding. Prom! I know that for many teens prom is an incredibly emotionally charged event. As adults, we know too, that those emotions can be misleading and at times dangerous. However, trying to explain this to teens can be a daunting task.
A friend of mine, Suzanne, wrote a terrific essay to this end. I am sharing it with you this week in the hopes that it will put everything in proper perspective for our teens this prom season.
The Velvet Night Sky
By Suzanne
A Prom Night Message for Guys and Girls
Tonight is a special night- a night of beauty and elegance mixed with fun and nervousness. It will be one of those one-of-a-kind nights that she will spend all day getting ready for and he will begin just two hours before it’s time to go. When they first see each other, she will think he looks adorable in the black tux and shinny shoes. He will only be able to swallow hard and whisper, “Wow!” with his first glimpse of her. Is this their wedding day? Not at all- just a high school celebration of mixed emotions; a tribute to pasts and futures, to memories and plans, to love and friendships.
With all these emotions showering down like fireworks, it will be challenging to step carefully through the night while distracted by the beautiful sparkles in the sky.
Confused? Take a closer look at how emotions are like fireworks:
Fireworks are displayed in a variety of colors, styles, and strengths. Emotions vary too, from anger to calmness, from love to hate, from sadness to exhilaration, and so on.
Emotions can’t be trusted. They can take off like a rocket and generate feelings of fright or delight. Like fireworks, they can even produce a surprising attention-grabbing display. But very quickly, the dazzling embers die and fall from the sky. The backdrop returns to its natural beauty as a wide velvet night sky. But after experiencing such a powerful show, the wide expanse of velvety depth is not truly appreciated. The memory of the sparkling sight seems much more significant, as if there was nothing more beautiful to ever be experienced, nothing more worthy to ever be considered. Emotions, like fireworks, can distort an understanding of what is most important. For that reason, they are untrustworthy.
Emotions should be closely guarded. Imagine someone curious about what is stored in a particular warehouse. The building is locked, but he finds an open window. He climbs through and tries to look around. It’s too dark inside to navigate or to even find a light switch, so, out of his pocket he brings a small lighter. As he holds it up and ignites the mini-torch, the flame not only reveals the contents of the warehouse but also provides the means for bringing harm to the intruder, to the warehouse, to the contents and to anyone close by. How could a tiny flame cause such damage? It can, if fireworks are stored in that warehouse. Imagine the danger and devastation that would occur if a warehouse filled with fireworks began to explode. Unguarded and uncontrolled emotions are just as dangerous and can cause just as much devastation. Where there is the potential for quick or powerful ignition, even a small flame can be the catalyst for something dangerous. If emotions are not guarded, feelings that would be properly controlled under proper circumstances become improper… maybe even destructive.
Emotions should be acknowledged but not given free rein. They should be honestly examined for value and importance in the big picture of life- the wide velvet night sky. The momentary beauty of the fireworks display can be disarming. The dazzling glow can be temporarily blinding, yet seem all-consuming. Their power demands complete attention. Consider this: wherever time and resources are invested, the heart will follow (Matthew 6:21). Inappropriate devotion to what is temporal distorts the view of what is eternal. Fireworks fade. Emotions change. What is lasting?
This night will end and the shiny shoes will be returned. The beautiful dress will go back into the garment bag. What will remain of beauty and worth when the night is over? A beautifully memorable night can be created with the proper perspectives: Do appreciate the dazzling magnificence of the fireworks, but recognize their beauty and power for what it truly is- temporary and untrustworthy. Appreciate the glorious potential stored and waiting in the warehouse. Recognize that improperly ignited, the purpose of the contents of the warehouse is destroyed. Most of all, appreciate the wide velvet night sky. It was there before this night began- there in its perfection before any fireworks burst into it- naturally beautiful in its purity and wholeness.
Tonight is a special night. But there is a night yet to come that will have fireworks worthy of trust, worthy of attention, time and resources. And with watchfulness and care, a warehouse will stand secure- filled with hidden, powerful potential, stored and waiting for its’ intended purpose- and worthy of the wait.
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