learning to savor

I was asked today if money wasn't an object, if I didn't have to work, if I could do anything in the world, live anywhere in the world, what would I do? I wanted to give her a thoughtful answer, a truthful answer, so I thought about it. If I could do anything what would I do?

My heart leapt within me at the thought. It's one of those rare opportunities where you just allow yourself to dream for a minute of a perfect world. What would that world look like?

I knew within myself what I would do, and I did my best to express it to this lady. I would have a house on the beach. It would be a safe place, a resting place, a refuge. It would be open to anyone who wanted to come. I would have tea every afternoon with my friends. I would cook and bake. I would work in my garden in the backyard. I would spend hours in communion with my Beloved. I would take walks on the beach, watching the sunset. I would sit on my front porch and soak up the day and night. I would savor life, and I would share it with whomever desired to savor with me.

This lady loved my dream, and she pointed out to me that that is a ministry -- the ministry of savoring. It is something we have lost in our society and our culture, and yet savoring is what my heart longs for (and were I a betting woman, I would wager it is what your heart longs for too). In a society that is fast-paced and always up on the latest thing and fad, I long for the simplicity of a clean, fresh home, a hearty meal on the table, thoughtful conversations, good, rich soil to till.

I realized that many of my favorite things are things that are meant to be savored. Food is meant to be enjoyed and tasted and eaten slowly, one morsel at a time. Wine is meant to be sipped and the flavors allowed to dance on your taste buds. Photography is meant to take time as the angles and shots and lighting are taken into account. Coffee is meant to be a social gathering of people to share their lives and their time. I love savoring. Taking my time. Allowing moments to really just soak into me. Appreciating the beauty around me. And I want others to learn the art of savoring (not that I'm an expert by any means).

I think a lot of it comes down to the heart. A woman's heart is a garden. It is meant to be cultivated and tended to with care and love and tenderness. It is meant to be fully awake and alive to the romance of life, filled with all the sensuality that a woman possesses, not in a cheap and artificial way, but in the truest sense of the word, in the way that God intended for a woman's heart to be. Because out of an awake, alive, full, inspired, romantic, sensual heart comes life. A woman's heart is meant to be life-giving.

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." - Proverbs 4:23

That's what this verse means. It means take care of your heart because it is the most precious and valuable thing you have. Take care of it, cultivate it, allow it to be awake and alive and romantic, and allow that to bring life to those around you. And savor those moments because (and I'm letting you in on a secret here) those moments are real, true, eternal life. Embrace it.