"She is out there. My Cinderella. She is real. She exists. I pray for her constantly. May God satisfy the desires of her heart, draw her close, consume her. May He claim her passions, her identity, her refuge, her hopes, her strengths and weaknesses, every fibre of her being. May she treasure and cherish her Savior more than anything of this world and cling to His will with every ounce of her stamina. By all that she is, does, and strives to be, may He draw near to her and she to Him."

Reeling my thought archive a few months ago, I was on an emotional rollercoaster – my thoughts were all over the place, my emotions were a jumble and mixture of it all.

Daddy sat me down and shared with me a story – The Story of the Shulamite Woman.

The Shulamite Woman demonstrated with her life what real love is. In Songs of Solomon 4, the Shulamite Woman was referred to as ‘a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, and a sealed fountain’ (verse 12, paraphrased).

Those metaphors (I like to call it ‘creative writing’) are in reference to her heart, he gently said. Her heart was locked up, enclosed and sealed; only to be opened to her beloved when the time comes. Likewise, he continued, my heart should mirror that of the Shulamite Woman’s.

In this age, having spoken to my youths (little ones, I’d always call them) and even realising it for myself, we have opened up our hearts (too liberally) to all that we deem worthy whom we’ve met along the way – only to be disappointed and crushed most of the time, because it was a ‘dine and dash’ situation.

So, this has been the prayer seal I’ve kept over my heart and will continue to do so until His good time.

“I charge you, my daughter, do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”(Songs of Solomon 2:7, paraphrased)