Photo credits: Pexels
Lover of My Soul
I am not married, yet I have been a bride for eight years
and counting…for I am the bride of Christ.
This gentle Lover of my soul who tends so carefully, diligently,
succinctly to the daily needs of my person.
All my life I have wanted to be married, but have to laugh when I am
barely a wife to the Husband that I already have. If I cannot give Him everything He requires,
how then do I think I’ll be able to give an earthly, flawed human all that he
needs when it all comes from my First Love?
Ours is an ongoing love affair beginning before I ever had a
conscious thought of Him. He picked me
even before I was born, laying colorful gems and stones in place, setting the
stage for our extended courtship.
So many times I looked into the face of my Betrothed, not
knowing Who or What I saw, but He smiled and let me discover things my own
way. At times He had to have grown
tired, even frustrated, perhaps wounded, as I sought love in the arms of
another, but He is a patient man. He
tells me He knew I would come…that I was worth the wait.
I am humbled in His presence. Sometimes realizing exactly what I’ve been
blessed with – so awed by His beauty and magnificence I want to run away and
hide. Other times so blessed by that
same magnificence I want to run into His arms and never leave.
He looks at me with the gentle eyes of a lover who sees His
prize and knows her worth, saying, “Beloved, strip naked in my presence. Do not hide yourself from me behind titles,
fear, feelings of unworthiness, shame. I
see you. It is you that I want. Remember that I picked you!” And I,
entranced by the intensity of the look in His eyes begin a slow striptease,
taking off layer upon of layer of whatever would dare stand between me and the
gentle touch of my Lover. And for a time
I am there, naked in His sight and He smiles, enraptured. Languishing in my beauty as if seeing me for
the first time. He says He never tires
of seeing me. Says he wishes to share in
such sweet communion with me always.
Each time He sees me, He is reminded of how much He loves me, how much I
mean to Him, how there is no price too high for Him to pay for me…and already
has paid. Loves me so much that He
creates new and tender mercies for me each and every morning.
I awake to the feel of His breath upon my cheek. It is the soft whisper of my name upon His
lips that stirs me into consciousness as I begin yet another day. He says, “Beloved, do not begin your day
without our special time together. Your
prayers rising to me are as sweet as Frankincense. I relish in our time together. It is in those moments before you face the
day that I want to prepare you, strengthen you for what lies ahead…for I am
able to see what you cannot see. Talk
with me, my Beloved. Let us have the
most precious of moments together. Lift
your voice in song to me. I never feel
so close to you as when you are praising me.
Yes, I remember now, why I chose you.
You are beautiful to me. There
are no sweeter words spoken than the sound of My name upon your lips. You are my beautiful bride. Tell me how much I mean to you. Show me how much I mean to you.”
Loving Him isn’t duty and it isn’t a job even though it does
require much from me. It is the greatest
desire of my heart. I have looked for
Him all my life and He has always been right here…waiting on me to see Him and
to love Him with a fraction of the love He has always had for me.
Sometimes the intensity of His love is too much for me to
take. And me being me, I back away. Get lax in my time alone with Him. I never see myself so clearly as when we are
alone, face to face. I am not always
ready to see all that there is of me to see.
The more I give of myself to Him, the more of me He wants. While I know it is best, it is right, it is
good…I am not always ready to give what He is asking for when He asks and so I
run. Sometimes a little, other times a
lot, until the ugly, reality of life becomes visible and it is revealed to me
just why He asked for what I so selfishly held on to. I miss the protecting, soothing embrace of my
Lover, Husband of mine. Then it is I, without reservation, who comes running back, dropping layers along the way –
yearning once again to be naked and unashamed in His sight.
The longer we are married, the shorter the separations are
between us. You see, I cannot, will not,
live without Him. He completes me and I
am whole only in His presence. I am no
longer a skittish, squeamish child bride, but am instead becoming a mature
woman in the arms of my Husband who sets the stage for me to be all that He
created me to be. He is my daily bread
and protector of all things concerning me.
His unchanging ways comfort me and bring about stability in
a world where the only thing that is constant is change. He has never altered one word that He’s ever
spoken to me. It comforts me to know
that He never will.
We are one, becoming one mind as I put aside the things of
the world, rising in elevation to meet Him where He is. We have one purpose – to bring others,
joining them in the kingdom, preparing them for their own sacred marriage
ceremony with Him until we all become one body.
Changing lives one word at a time...Tumika
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Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author, media personality,
and motivational speaker. Through her imprint, Inkscriptions Publishing &
Media Group, she provides high quality, affordable, mentor-based publishing
services to indie authors, as well as inspired, empowering messages of hope and
abundance through her media outlets. Her works can be found in many
publications, including Fresh Lifestyle Magazine. To learn more about Tumika,
her books, and her services visit the following websites. http://www.TumikaPatrice.com
and http://www.InkscriptionsPMG.com
