Day #39
My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land... O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that ruin the vineyards— for our vineyards are in blossom.’
Song of Solomon 2:10-12,14-15
Lord, we pray for a new season for every marriage. We ask especially for couples who have settled prematurely for the companionship of a discontented winter; may the fresh sap of spring rise once more. We pray for couples for whom sex feels more like a problem than a pleasure, especially for those who have married (whether recently or many years ago) with unhealed wounds. We pray for husbands and wives for whom physical intimacy brings back memories of betrayal or abuse. Father, heal those hurts; open up the clam-shell hearts of men and women who have learned to shut down their emotions in order to survive. May a new voice of healing love call them forth. We pray for those who have felt unlovely, who instinctively hide their bodies and their hearts, may they find the courage to emerge from the rocky crevices in which they have hidden. May new life and new love blossom.
Amen.