What Is It To Be Beloved?

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him,

For he shields him all day long,

And the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”

Deuteronomy 33:12

What is it to be beloved?

What is it but to rest in the love given,

To lean in,

Without doubt,

Trusting,

Receiving, unworthy, the offered love,

And be made worthy by the lover’s gift.

What is it to be beloved?

What is it but to listen, longing for the lover’s voice,

The voice that calls me back,

Back from my wanderings,

From my forgetfulness,

From being important,

And busy,

And fractured.

What is it to be beloved?

What is it but to crawl finally, safely into silence,

The space between his shoulders

Where a warm heart

Hold its timeless rhythm,

Where soft and steady breath

Sooths me whole,

Where love’s arms can wrap

Strong around me,

And love can own and claim me as his own.