I believe the first romantic line about kissing came from a young woman who didn’t feel good enough to belong to the man who loved her completely. She says, “I am dark, but lovely.”
My favorite line from her is: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is sweeter than wine.”
That’s a sigh moment.
There’s a song that says, “A kiss is just a kiss…” (As Time Goes By—Casablanca)
But I don’t believe that for a second.
That line comes from the Song of Songs 1:2. Song of Songs means Loveliest Song. And it is. It’s a beautiful love story, full of passion, heartache, regret, and redemption through love with an ultimately satisfying ending. Bliss. Most would say this is about Solomon in general and the his beloved. But it’s also, and I believe mostly, a story of the love of Jesus for His bride—for us. An intimate picture. Full of symbolism and heart fluttering moments.
So what’s really in a kiss anyway? Is it just two people attracted to each other? And how important is it in a story?
It’s everything.
I dare to say the first kiss in a book is much more powerful than the first time a couple takes it all the way to the bedroom, and as an inspirational writer, that never takes place graphically. The door to the bedroom shuts. But even so, even in books that leave the door open, the kiss means so much more.
A kiss is powerful.
Research shows the following: (and I’ve taken it verbatim from here)
“Anyone who has ever been kissed knows that the sensations involved aren’t confined to the mouth. Your facial nerve carries impulses between your brain and the muscles and skin in your face and tongue. While you kiss, it carries messages from your lips, tongue and face to your brain to tell it what’s going on. Your brain responds by ordering your body to produce:
Oxytocin, which helps people develop feelings of attachment, devotion and affection for one another
Dopamine, which plays a role in the brain’s processing of emotions, pleasure and pain
Serotonin, which affects a person’s mood and feelings
Adrenaline, which increases heart rate and plays a role in your body’s fight-or-flight response”
Can I just say, my daughter is not allowed to kiss until her wedding day—which by the way—is an agreement or a seal, the kiss at the close of a wedding.
Sealed with a kiss.
That’s why we use the X for a kiss. XOXO. In ancient days, people who couldn’t sign their name on an agreement used an X. The O is for encircling, thus an O represents a hug. But that’s just a freebie on the side for you!
A kiss from our Savior is when He breathes the Word into us. Ancient Jews believed that when they read scripture it was a kiss from God. Think about it, when you read your Bible and personal revelation comes, what happens?
Oxytocin: You develop an attachment to, devotion and affection for the One who just kissed you.
Dopamine: Your brain processes and brings pleasure. Giddiness even.
Seratonin: Your mood and feelings are affected. A kiss from Jesus can you send you into a state of calm, elation, tingling, and exceeding amounts of happiness. Complete. Loved. Joy.
Adrenaline: A rush as your heart beats faster knowing He’s just given you exactly what you needed. Personal revelation. A kiss.
I believe everything physical is always a spiritual picture of God and His relationship to and with us. We can understand spiritual intimacy because we experience physical intimacy. I think He designed it that way on purpose, because we just can’t wrap our brain around how truly glorious and wonderful our Lord is or how intimate His love is for us.
What do you think? Is a kiss just a kiss? And how important is that moment when you’re reading a novel or watching a movie?
Jessica R. Patch writes inspirational contemporary romance with plenty of mystery and suspense. A passion to draw women into intimacy with God keeps her motivated, along with heaping cups of caffeine in the form of coffee. When she’s not hunched over her laptop or speaking to a women’s group, you can find her sneaking off to movies with her husband, embarrassing her daughter in unique ways, beating her son at board games and contemplating how to get rid of her irksome dog (she hasn’t attempted any of them…yet). She is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Agency.
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(the blog address might change because I’m SUPPOSED to have my website launched either Jan. 30th or Feb. 6th at the latest. We’ll see. In any case, it will then be: www.jessicarpatch.com)
