“I am black, but comely,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
As the tents of Kedar,
As the curtains of Solomon.”
– Song of Songs 1:5
When the Lord shines upon you, you will realize that in your inner being you are “black as the tents of Kedar.” Yet, the more you see your blackness, the more you will also see your inward loveliness in the Lord, and you will realize, “I am black but comely.” Actually, your inner loveliness in the Lord corresponds to the blackness that you realize in yourself. The more you realize you are black, the lovelier you will be before the Lord. You may feel weak and vulnerable when you are under the shining of the Lord, but it is in such a weak and vulnerable state that you are lovely and appreciated by God.
Adapted from The Song of Songs: A Divine Romance, page 36.