Songs from the Bible on Sunday

It all started with the kids paging through the Bible into Song of Songs on the way to church.

"What's this?" asked Katie.
"It's about love and mushy stuff," from me.

So, she starts to read aloud. Mikael and I were listening with twinkling eyes in the front seat; Jakob was busy looking for the book in his Bible in the back seat. Somewhere in the middle of the first chapter, there are giggles as Beloved and Lover trade compliments and compare physical traits to rustic themes. You are a lilly among thorns... You are an apple tree in the midst of the forest... 

Now, I've been told that Jewish men weren't allowed to read these love poems until they were 30 years old. You can look at them literally and even then they are pretty racy. If you delve into the metaphores and possible interpretations, it's downright hot stuff! We only have a 5-10 minute drive to church, so we got about as far as, Don't awaken love before it is ready, wise counsel given by a person in love.

"What does that mean?" I asked the backseat.
Jakob, age 8, answers without missing a beat, "It means, not to worry about falling in love until you are ready to get married."

I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm thankful for kids that seem to have gained that kind of wisdom while living in our home. My mom and dad seem to have built that into us as kids... never by preaching it, but by living it. Their love was sweet and secure. They had been 'first loves' as teens and married as soon as they could when Mom turned 18. I came along 4 years later, and they still seemed to be sweetly in love as I grew to adolescence.

I didn't seek love like many of my friends. My point of view was always kinda like Jakob's: "I don't need a boyfriend if I'm not ready to get married." I probably seemed boring to high school friends. That's ok, I wanted to be liked and seen as pretty and all that, but I was not willing to go on a man hunt for it. I somehow knew that I'd have love when I was ready. It wasn't MY job to FIND a man... It was God's job to "introduce" us at the right time.

I did think God was taking a long time, but patience payed off. Those of you who remember our story know pretty much what happened. I know our kids have heard our story, too. How we each followed God's call to missions and He made sure we got "introduced" at the right time. Me coming from America and Mikael coming from Sweden met in Maputo where we were sharing a desk at the office. From there on, things went pretty quickly. Love awakened and the rest is history!