She....

As I read through the Old Testament I am struck again and again 

by the diversity of  the women I find within those pages.

The extremes of their circumstances and situations.

Eve

Sarah

Hagar

Lot's Wife

Rebecca

Rachael

Leah

Potiphar's Wife

Miriam

Nameless Moabite Women

Faceless Midianite Women

Rahab

Deborah

Jael

Delilah

Naomi

Ruth

Hannah

Michal

Abigail

Bathsheba

Tamar

Jezebel

Daughters.Wives.Concubines.Judges.Queens.

Eve...crown of God's creation...beauty personified.

Counterpart.

What must She have been like?

And then...fallen...

From then on women were taken....

Loved, abused...rejected...used...betrayed...warned against.

God himself commanded:

Do not take women from other nations..

...they will turn your heart away to other gods.

AND THEY DID.

Who turned them first?

When did they first lose their way?

I read stories of women, wives, concubines being offered

to appease other men's lusts by their own husbands.

Raped.

Beaten.

Murdered.

I read of wives seducing their husbands hearts into worshiping other gods.

Luring them away from YHWH...

Others...

Hiding Idols.

Deceiving. 

Manipulating.

Then I read of courage and fortitude.

Strength, wisdom and passion.

Discernment.

Obedience.

Faithfulness.

Sacrifice.

What is woman?

She is more than the sum of her parts.

Who is She?

 She is counterpart.

She is steel wrapped in velvet.

She is a willow.

She is a wave.

What was God thinking?

We are all Eve.

We are all Her.

We are all the Prodigal Daughter.

We are every one of those women.

We are in desperate need.

Of Jesus...

Lover of our souls.

He is the Glory and the Lifter of our Heads

There is nothing beside him...

 Our beauty is NOTHING without Him..

We are...for Him ALONE.

He makes all things beautiful...even us !

Prodigal Daughter

I see her wander round, princess without a crown
stumbling and falling down beneath her burden
She’s floating through my town, a bride without a gown
passing her heart around to numb the hurting

She’s scared of coming home, she’s been so long alone
She sat upon her throne until it crumbled
and now she’s got to choose, she’s nothing left to lose
She’s battered and she’s bruised and feeling humbled
and saying her prayers to anyone

Chorus:
Who is her brother, who is her keeper
Where is her lover, can anyone reach her
A cup of cold water in the name of the father
I’m sending a letter to the prodigal daughter

So where is the reward for all the ones who mourn
for those who suffer scorn and have no father
Maybe the blessed are cursed, maybe the last are first
maybe the ones who thirst will find the water

Her lover sees inside, he sees with lover’s eyes
He sees a radiant bride with passion burning
Everything upside down, her rags become a gown
Her scars become a crown at the returning

~~ Lyrics by Andrew Smith ~~

The Song of Songs is not afar off .

It is fast approaching in my reading schedule.

I can feel my hearts cry increasing....a desperation rising 

...as I fill my eyes and ears with His word.

As I go deeper and see more clearly His character...

..the longing grows...

...the hunger for meaning explodes within...

Can you feel it?

Have you seen my beloved?

We need to call out..reach out...fall down before...

The only one who can truly satisfy...

The One who defines us.

We need to let Him lead us...to bring us to himself.

He made...She....for He.

He is her beloved.

She is his beloved.

She is...you.

She is me.

We can trust him...He was there at our making !