Courting Her Soul

He takes her out of Egypt.  He strips the yoke of slavery from her wrists, but He doesn't stop there.  He continues to peel off layer by layer of customs that He refuses to be known by.  He takes her by the hand and leads her into the wilderness, where the distractions will be few and where He will have to be enough.

She writhes under His touch.  Her spirit is still angry that He had to do things this way.  Sure, she wanted to know Him, but it was supposed to be on her terms, which meant choice foods and comfortable shelter.  She had dreamt of the day of her rescue, but now that it has come, she mocks Him and tells Him that He could have done things differently.

She doesn't understand that she has entered into a place of intimacy that will be shared with the very One who courts her soul.  It is a honeymoon of sorts, where He will allow her to see the real Him.  He will gently teach her how to love Him.  Adore Him.  Worship Him.

Despite her anger, she starts to see His beauty.  He has provided for her.  He hasn't left her to herself.  There hasn't been a day where she has been discarded or forgotten.  She starts to peer into His heart and she discovers mercy instead of wrath.  But, she is still wary of His chisel, the one that chips away at her stone-hard heart.

Her heart is a mixture of love and distrust.  How can both reside in her innermost frame?  She warily trusts Him enough to allow the chisel once again, and over time, He chips away the layers of her dead heart.  The pain is excruciating, but the sense of relief and wholeness that she feels afterwards makes it worthwhile. 

The Carpenter keeps hacking away at the awkwardly shaped heart of stone until one day, He finds what He was looking for...the innermost and purest part of His one true love.  He gently cradles it in His hands, breathes on it, and laughs out loud when rays of light start to bind up the jagged edges marked by His refiner's tool.

She is blinded by the light.  Could it be?  Beauty starts to emanate from every crevice.  Glory!  Does someone hear her?  Know her?  Love her?

The wilderness has allowed her to trust.  Her heart softens when His voice (that she has so desperately and shockingly started to crave) speaks.  She starts to recognize that she was created for this one thing...to love Him and be loved by Him.

She gazes into His pure eyes and tells Him she will go wherever He leads.  The mere thought of even momentarily being out of His embrace is enough to undo her.

So He takes her by the hand.

And she follows, this time with joyful and complete abandon.