Caught Up in the Rapture

Proverbs 5:19“A loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always.”At my niece Jasmine’s wedding reception, Anita Baker came on.D’Ann and I didn’t discuss it.We just jumped onto the dance floor.While we were dancing, my brother sashayed over and said something I didn’t know.“Whenever I hear Anita Baker, I think of you two.”That caught me.I didn’t know our love had become a soundtrack in somebody else’s memory.That ‘Rapture of Love’ cut was banging when Dee Dee and I first started dating. In fact, when I proposed, I had somebody sing Anita Baker’s “Giving You the Best That I Got”—but that’s another story for another day.Anita knew how to put words around what it felt like to get all caught up in the rapture of love.Proverbs five nineteen in the NET version:“A loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always.”The Bible ain’t embarrassed by affection—or desire.Proverbs spends plenty of time warning us about relationships that can drain, deceive or destroy. But here, Lady Wisdom celebrates a love that can still captivate us.That word gets me: captivated.To have your attention lovingly held.To still notice.To still delight.To hear one song, look across the room and remember why your heart started dancing.That kind of love doesn’t stay alive by accident. It has to be noticed, protected and returned to.Sometimes you’ve got to get back on the dance floor.But I know everybody doesn’t hear this passage from the same place.Some are looking for this love.Some are longing for it.And some are mourning the person who once shared the dance.This Scripture is giving a public toast to a love worth hoping for. And if you’ve had it and lost it, it makes room for the grief too.And let me say this clearly: being captivated by love never means being held captive by toxicity or harm.Wise love delights without diminishing you.It draws you closer without making you disappear.That’s the rapture of love—not disappearing inside somebody else, but finding a rhythm where both of you can still be fully yourselves.And sometimes somebody watching from across the room can hear your whole history in one Anita Baker song.🔥 REMEMBERLove can captivate your heart without imprisoning your soul.🙏🏽 PRAYERGod, keep love tender, safe, joyful, faithful, and deeply alive.🎯 TODAY’S CHALLENGEPlay a song connected to loving memory. If your person is present, tell them what it means. If you're longing or mourning, let the music hold your hope or grief without rushing it.About the AuthorFred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch📱 Experience Proverbs Daily by Subscribing!Ready to receive daily wisdom directly on your phone?Go to proverbsdaily.org for the app or just click that Subscribe button right now! Get full access to Hey Fred Lynch! at heyfredlynch.substack.com/subscribe