Skip!

When I taught the elementary grades, my litmus test for the children’s well-being was to observe them during recess and ask, “Are they skipping?” Even a child at rest will swing a foot, shrug a shoulder, or sway. Sometimes, I would skip with the children, and we would laugh. I’ve learned skipping is a universal expression of joy.

In Song of Solomon 7:1-2a KJV, a bride is pictured as a princess wearing gorgeous shoes, and jeweled thighs. Who is this bride? She is the Bride of Christ, allegorically portrayed in a vignette:

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O princes’ daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels; the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Song of Songs 7:1-2a KJV

I am Jesus’s Bride, so I like to think of this as a portrayal of me wearing skipping sandals. Here, I am spiritually adorned so I can skip with reckless abandon as a child does, and the joy that is within me is great. I have come to the place where my Groom is my all-in-all. I am secure within His love, and I’m ready to serve His people. I respond to my Groom by saying, “Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early…” (Song 7:11b KJV) So here, I’m portrayed as skipping to my workplace anticipating with joy the projects I ‘ll get to do. Where is my Groom Jesus Christ? He is right beside me, empowering me to serve effectively. Why? He loves the people I serve as much or even more than I do. 

My beginning was not so glorious. In Song of Solomon 1:5-8 KJV, my head was down, my shoulders were drooping, and my life felt like a mess. Problems overwhelmed me, and I’d lost my way spiritually. But this scenario changed when I chose to tell my Groom Jesus, I needed Him to be Lord of my life. He was not daunted by any challenges I faced. He lifted my head, took my hand, and danced upon the mountaintop with me. He offered to become my Groom despite the challenges I faced and despite any of my imperfections. He skipped with me upon the high mountaintop like a young hart who had found his mate. He was filled with joy because I came to Him. At that time, deceptive shadows overtook me and I was filled with fear. But my Lord Jesus shined His glorious light on every one of the shadowy places until they were erased and only His glory remained in me. But this was not something I did on my own — My Groom’s love overcame any fears as I chose to reveal my needs to Him. In this transformational process, He created within me a joy no circumstance can take away. 

If my Beloved Groom loved me enough to skip with me as I began my spiritual journey, imagine the joy He has worked within me by the time He gives me the skipping sandals of Song of Solomon 7:1. The beautiful shoes I am wearing in this passage are Jesus’ gift to me.  He has transformed me so much that people notice the joy I have. My Groom’s skip becomes my skip, and He makes my joy complete.

You, dear reader, are the Bride of Christ. Your beloved Groom has created you to skip. So, reach into the spiritual realm, take your Savior’s hand, and skip with Him today.

Lord Jesus, we trust You to create within our spirits many beautiful skips.

"Skip!" is adapted from The Kiss of Peace: The Bride’s Exploration into Song of Solomon by Diane Virginia Cunio (awaiting publication). Used with permission.