Take Your Time
Beautiful woman, how is your lover different from other lovers? Is your lover better than other lovers? Is that why you ask us to make this promise? – Song of Songs 5:9 (ERV)
Her friends gathered around to hear all about her lover—and did she ever tell them allllllll about him! Head to toe, no fraction of a cubit of this man went unnoticed, unpraised. Not only looks but personality: sweet speech, desirable, a friend. The total package. Her request: When you see him, tell him I’m faint with love. After her breathless description, those words might’ve been hard for the friends to find.
Whew! Okay now, Song of Songs! Whether you read this ancient, sensuous poem as an allegory for God’s love of the people or as the downright erotic journal entries of two lovers, one thing is clear: such deep, full-bodied, wholehearted love compels you to take your time.
If you’re going to notice every detail of the subject of your love, you’ve got to take your time. Slow down, pause, linger. Consider your love from every curve and angle. This kind of love commands your attention, holds you close. Enthralled and enraptured, all else fades away. Your passion inspires praise—even while it might impair your ability to speak! Your devotion, your dedication of time speaks loudly and descriptively enough.
Whatever and whomever it is that you love, whatever and whomever it is that has you so captivated: this love is divine. Patient attention nurtures affection and deepens connection. Offer thanks and praise for this love, and take your time.
Prayer
God of Love, God who is Love: For all that I love, for all that there is to love, may I offer honor and praise by taking my time. Amen.
About the AuthorChris Mereschuk (he/him) is an Unsettled Pastor and the Founder of RevCJM, LLC, specializing in church vitality and Legacy consulting and coaching.