While doing a local art exhibit, a woman approached me, inquiring if I make custom necklaces. We began to talk about her story and I was definitely interested. She explained to me how she wanted to give her daughter something special with a special meaning. She had already got her daughter a purity ring ( a ring symbolizing staying pure until marriage) and wanted a necklace to match it in some way. She was drawn to the century old knot pendants. Explaining the representation of strength and endurance over time, relating it to purity for her daughter. I was touched by her vision. I created a custom necklace with a knot taken from a piece of wood recovered from a barn that was over a 100 years old. I wired it with copper wire to s Sterling Silver box chain incorporating wooden and turquoise like beads. The colores of the wood and turquoise together with mixing the copper and silver really gave it the strong, yet delicate and feminine look she was after. While creating this custom piece I pondered on a verse.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in live, in faith, in purity. 1Timothy4:2 NIV 

I put this verse in her gift box with the necklace.

I was excited to be a part of this and I told her I would love to hear back
from her after she gives the necklace to her daughter.
A few months later I received this e-mail.
” Well mom said that I could send the information for her so here it is.On my tenth birthday mom drove me to town to pick up a custom made purity ring with my initials on it. It also had three small squares of turquoise in it. Mom had told me it was going to be a special gift for my first year with double digits. Other than that I did not know what I was getting until I saw it. The ring was meant to grow with me –it started out on my thumb now it is on my pointer. Mom and I talked about what  the ring represented on the way home. My sister who just had her tenth birthday also got a ring, hers has flowers on it and she got it at home. Mom and her also had their special talk. Mom plans to do this with each of her four children though the boys might get something different like a belt buckle or something more to their liking than a ring. Now, for the necklace- when we stopped at your place in the tent this summer mom asked me if I liked the jewelry. I said I did and kind of suspected something was up. On our thirteenth birthday mom wants to give us each a reminder gift. Mine was the necklace. I was very exited to see it and liked that it had turquoise like my ring.  Mom told me that I didn’t need to wear this gift all the time, but she hoped I wore it often. She also said to wear it without fear of losing it and that she wouldn’t be mad if I did. After all, this was a gift that she wanted me to wear!  We talked about how the knot represented being strong and that purity makes a marriage stronger. Mom also told me that every three years she was going to try to get another reminder gift for each of us. Well I guess that pretty much sums it up”. 

This is Mom now… “I just feel very strongly that purity is important and our “world” does not put a proper Godly perspective one it. I feel strong enough about it that I don’t think a
one time “talk” or gift is enough. I feel that I need to give it value in my child’s eyes. I also know that it will be a blessing to my children’s’ marriages if they choose to marry”.
 Name kept confidential