I know you’re all thinking, “Huh? What’s that?”
At least I hope you are, or I’m going to feel really weird and abnormal.
Note: Dad, I’m going to talk about sex now. You might want to go watch the Speed Channel for a while.
I’ve been reluctant to write about this subject, because frankly, it makes me squirm with embarrassment. I’m a pretty modest girl. Sex is something private between my husband and me, and I don’t usually talk to other people about it. However, it worries me that my husband and I occasionally go so long without, er…marital relations, that I feel all shy and giggly around him. When he touches me I get flushed and embarrassed, like a teenaged girl on a first date.
I feel so guilty about this! It’s not that I’m not attracted to my husband. I’m actually extremely attracted to him. I mean, look at him! He’s adorable!
When my husband and I were first married, we were in the whole “can’t keep our hands off each other” stage. We frequently missed dinner reservations, movies, and other engagements because we would get carried away and not make it out the door. I miss that time. I really do. It’s just that by the time the kids go to bed at night, I’m so tired. They’ve pestered me all day with their demands, and I just want to be left alone. I want to read, or watch TV, or stare into space and let my brain turn to oatmeal.
The Bible says that in marriage we become one flesh with our husbands (see II Peter 2:9. Genesis 2:24; Proverbs 5:18-19; Matthew 19:5; Luke 1:34; I Corinthians 7:2-5, 9; Ephesians 5:31), and sex is God’s way for married couples to stay close and connected. There is simply no greater intimacy that we can share, and couples who have regular sex report greater happiness and contentment in marriage.
A few months ago, I saw an Oprah episode about “sexless marriages.” Apparently, 20% of married couples have sex only 10 times a year, or less, and this is defined as a sexless marriage. This shocked me! 20 percent? That’s one fifth of the married population, having sex less than once a month!
Recently, the pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, challenged the married couples in his congregation to strengthen their unions through his “Seven Days of Sex” challenge. He believes that when you make the time to have sex with your spouse, it brings you closer to each other, and to God. He also says that regular sex helps you leave a loving legacy for your children to follow and might even prevent an extramarital affair.
Well. Some very good reasons to greet your husband at the door tonight in an apron…and nothing else.
No no, I’m just kidding! Maybe.
Seriously though, one of my resolutions this year is to work on this. I know, I know, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. *wink, wink*
