"Dark yet Lovely" by Dana Candler
I am dark yet lovely, O Daughters of Jerusalem. Do not look upon me because the sun has tanned me. My mother's sons were angry with me, they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept (Song of Songs 1:5, 6).
What is happening in the Song of Solomon storyline here? In chapter one, the Shulamite begins her journey of bridal love with a crucial revelation. Sincere desire for Jesus burns within her yet she runs headlong into her weakness. She declares, "I am dark yet lovely." She has been overworked by the leaders over her. She lost her way in the keeping of her own vineyard, her own heart.
She is in a two-part spiritual crisis: She is rejected by members of the body of Christ (my mother