STARS WHO LIVE THE SECRET OF PURE LOVE
This is not quite usual in our times! To remain a virgin and vehemently stick to one’s virginity until the marriage day might sound weird in a world of dating and sexual experiments. The surprise gets heightened when we learn that the man who waited on sex until he married his wife at the age of 20 was a luminous Hollywood celebrity! His name is Kirk Cameron, one of the most famous Christian actors in the world!
Winner of two Golden Globe, Kirk said about his exemplary commitment: “Sex within marriage is the only kind that’s truly fun and exciting — the kind that lasts for a lifetime. I’m glad I waited.”
An atheist in his younger days, Kirk married Chelsea Noble in 1991. For the people of Hollywood, who are more accustomed to marital bonds of convenience and frequent divorces may not easily understand the commitment which united the hearts of these celebrity couples.
“Marriage is a covenant relationship between me, my wife and Jesus,” Kirk says. “And there is no exiting out of that covenant relationship.” Even when Kirk steps on set, he stays true to his marriage vow.
The huge surprise came in 2008, when Kirk was acting in a movie named Fireproof. He was supposed to kiss co-star Erin Bethea at the end of the movie. “There’s nothing make-believe about kissing an actress, You’re kissing her. I made a commitment not to kiss any actress, ever. That’s reserved for my wife” Kirk said by turning down the kissing scene for the astonishment of all the crew.
Eventually Chelsea dressed to look like his co-star and the scene was shot in silhouette, giving the impression that Kirk was kissing the heroine.
“God defines the terms, we don’t. It’s a union built entirely on trust. Trust, first in God — that as we move ahead in the power of the Spirit, by faith, God will work all things together for good, no matter the circumstances” that is his view.
For Chelsea, commitment means that she’s willing to be supportive of Kirk, regardless of how she’s feeling. “Jesus says to show love whether you feel love or not,” Chelsea says. “It’s through our obedience that God will bless us. It’s not through acting on our feelings. “I want to have a worthy walk with the Lord. This is my highest calling. And how that plays out in daily life is just staying committed — working diligently at the call of being a wife and mother.”
Kirk speaks about the ways God taught them to grow in relationship: “If you just trust the Lord, you can say, ‘God taught us a lot during those times. He taught us to be patient. He taught us to be kind. He taught us to be selfless and put our spouse’s needs before our own.’ ”
About maintaining warmth in husband-wife relationship, Chelsea says: “We’d have breakfast together, and it was amazing. I mean, you spend an hour alone looking across the table at your husband, and you think, I just remembered why I really like you! Because I wasn’t crazy about you this morning, but I like you now!” Chelsea laughs and then adds, “Kirk and I, we really love to talk to each other.”
The mistake busy couple often make is that they would wait long months or even a year to be together for a vacation trip. Listen to Kirk: “Couples need to make the most of little opportunities, even if it’s only 10 to 20 minutes here or there. If couples wait for the semiannual vacation trip to connect, they will drift apart — two weeks a year is not enough together time. To keep their marriage healthy, couples need to connect every day.” That is a very valuable lesson!
Kirk has learned how to listen to his wife’s needs and concerns. Now as he makes his list of things to get done for the day, he asks his wife, “Honey, tell me what’s on your mind. What are the things that you’re trying to get done today? I want to be able to help you.” What she says goes to the top of his to-do list.
‘Forgiveness’ is the keyword for Chelsea. She realized over time that it wasn’t her job to change Kirk. Instead, she had to allow the Holy Spirit to change her.
“A lot of times people say, ‘Well, if he’d stop doing that, then I’ll be this,’ ” Chelsea says. She no longer buys into that. Instead of focusing on her husband, whom she can’t change, she focuses on getting her part of the marriage right. Kirk does the same.
Kirk and Chelsea live happily with six children today – Jack, Isabella, Anna, Luke, Olivia and James. They happy couple who have been leading faithful marital life for the last 26 years, stand as an inspiration and challenge to the young people of our generation. They are true models when it comes to faithfulness in marriage.
A. Fraizer
