Darkness entered the room.
His only intent to lure me, to sweep me away. Truly, I thought he had won.
Bested with the blackest of nights, my soul felt tightly held. Enclosed in a cave of my own creation.
Denial of my need left me empty and desolate. Dry and weary, I searched the land, but there was no water.
A heart parched, cracking, and yet I bled. Betrayed, wounded, bereft of hope.
And yet, you saw me.
Forward, you stepped.
Backward, I shrunk.
In despair, I sat. Disgusted at the filth I beheld on my hands, my arms, my stomach and feet. The soot of sin had covered me whole.
And yet, in my bones, I knew I was seen.
You reached for my hand; took it in yours. Your skin on mine; it felt like diamonds.
Your strong fingers cleansed everywhere they touched, exposing raw skin beneath the stains.
It was then that I knew. I saw who I had become, You saw who I would be.
Who you had created, purposed in eternity, crafted and quilted in pure delight.
To you, here, I was the only girl in the room.
Ashamed, heartbroken, hopeful.
I stood before you and I knew.
It was always you. It had always been you.
As you held my face in your hands, your blood poured over me. Like a purifying flame, it burned away the blackened and burned.
Pure love spread from my cheeks to my shoulders. From my arms and hands to my stomach, legs and feet.
Into a flood of forgiveness, you plunged me.
Into your heart of love you placed me.
In a blanket of grace, you wrapped me.
The emptiness inside me made full.
Your love was breaking, reshaping, making.
The glorious undoing had begun.
_________
You enter the room.
My heartbeat quickens.
For I know, you’re here.
You move toward me, in love.
Longing for freedom, I lean into your shoulder.
What was once shrouded in darkness, now beams forth in radiance.
Your love is transforming me.
Incandescent glory is your skin. Indescribable love your grip.
Breaking, reshaping, making me.
Into something new.
Your love stings as it cleanses wounds, but I want it all.
Your blood, red with life, pours over me. Enraptured, I surrender.
I surrender, enraptured. Drenched in your glory. My soul is met with love eternal.
“Beloved,” you say, “Come home. Be Mine.”