Don't Stir Too Much...
- Lucrecia Slater
- Jan 20, 2017
- 4 min read
My mom lacked much in the areas of nurturing and developing my sisters and I into becoming women of character. But there was one thing she was going to make sure of, that we knew how to cook. She brought me into the kitchen at a very young age. I made, well burned to a crisp, my first grilled cheese sandwich at the age of 7. As I got older, she exposed me to more complex things to cook. My mom used to like baking and it was actually almost an art to watch her bake. She didn’t make fancy cakes and cookies or anything like that. But the approach she took to making sure the consistency of the baked goods came out right, was amazing. The main thing she harped on was stirring. I promise I didn’t realize how many ways there was to stirring and mixing. Either something had to be stirred slowly, quickly, or folded into. And I had to make sure not to stir too much or the mixture would “seize” or stiffen and cause the baked good to come out dense and/or hard, thus producing and an inconsistent yield. Well, I guess that’s why I don’t bake now, because I’ve messed up too many cakes in my day and I’m done with it!
So why am I talking about baking? Well, y’all ought to know by now that I’m a storyteller. I like to set the stage. I came across a scripture that struck me to my core. Song of Solomon 2:7 says, "Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the wild does of the field: do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time." The entire book of Song of Solomon is a love story, both symbolic and literal (I encourage you to read it). I sat reading that scripture over and over, meditating on what it could possibly mean. I did some research to find out why those specific animals were chosen. So here goes…
Many times, we women have gotten caught up in emotional situations that left us torn to pieces. We jumped too quickly into that relationship because the right words were spoken, because he made us feel butterflies, because the sex was explosive (keeping it 100%), because, because, because. But what we didn’t see was that we weren’t ready for that relationship or maybe he wasn’t ready for us.
We moved beyond the red flags and into the realm of danger. We ignored or blew by every sign that told us to wait because we wanted badly to be in the arms of our boo, bae, soulmate, or whatever term of endearment we want to call him.
Just like that baking mixture shouldn’t be stirred too much, neither should prematurely jumping into love. Especially if we don’t know what love really is or looks like. Because we have impressions. We have imitations and oftentimes imitate what we see. If our hearts haven’t been touched and filled by God FIRST, then all we’ll do is run through life impersonating.
Gazelles, as mentioned in the scripture, are fast and swift on the feet. Practically speaking, don’t be so quick to fall for him prematurely just because he fits all requirements on your check list. Instead, chase quickly after God.
Where the scriptures mention the does of the field (female deer), picture the movie “Bambi.” Remember how graceful Bambi’s mother was? That’s the temperament of the female deer. She’s delicate and graceful, tender and gentle. Don’t be so quick in our delicate nature to just take his words as everything just because they sound good. Let the words of God permeate our hearts and fill our minds first.
And don’t stir as the scripture says, again going back to the cake mixture. If that mixture is stirred too much, it will seize and therefore present a hard product. When we move too quickly into a relationship we’re not ready for, we present the potential for our hearts to broken. We present the potential for our hearts to seize up and we become hard as a result.
God’s intentions is that we are captivated by His love FIRST. He wants to fill every hole in our hearts so that we are prepared for the one He is to gift us with. I know some of us moved prematurely already and are in the place of that hardened, seized heart. Know that it’s not too late. God can always take a hardened heart of stone and turn it into a sensitive, heart of flesh if we allow Him to, Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
I encourage you today to seek God out. Allow Him to be FIRST in love. Let Him be your guide in maneuvering through the dating/relationship scene. Trust me, it will save your heart a whole lot of seizing. Be blessed sisters!
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