The Season of Singing

“My beloved spoke and said to me, Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come; the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.” Song of Songs 2:10-13

Last week there was a small package delivered to my home. When I opened it, I was reminded that one of my dearest and most precious friends had told me she ordered a book for me. I’m in love with this small book because this book whispers a love story right back to me…God’s furious longing for me {and for you!}. Brennan Manning is the author of The Furious Longing of God and I am quite sure he included Scripture which I have never read. As much time as I have spent walking the spiritual pages of God’s Kingdom in print, I have never stopped to visit the Book of Song of Songs. This passage is love’s battle cry for the tired…the heartbroken…the hopeless…the sick. Little did I know that the book she bought me would provide the beautiful image needed to help soothe my heart this morning.

Saturday, I received a text from this same friend that simply said ‘Mama has taken her first breath in heaven.’ This morning as I was reading Manning’s book the passage again was printed in the chapter I was reading. But this time, it seemed like it became alive for me and tears streamed down my face. It was as if I had stumbled upon a private moment between God and her mother … intruding…eavesdropping…trespassing. But wide-eyed and cupping my ear to the wall, I allowed myself to be a part of the snapshot of her last moments. I’m confident these are the words that floated into her mind and heart from a God who had a furious longing for her. She couldn’t rise fast enough because her winter WAS over! No more rain…no more frigid circumstances…no more sickness. This week flowers will appear on her earth, as her service will be shared with her family and friends. Her season of singing HAS come and she is hearing the songs of the Lord like never heard before. She is hearing the cooing of doves in Heaven instead of the beeping of equipment. She has arisen and has held out her hand to the One who has been holding her.

This beautiful beloved soul has indeed arisen and followed the One who called her home.