My husband and I celebrated our third year anniversary this week. We were fortunate to take off for a few days on an adventure of zip lining through the forest near our home (Mt. Hermon Redwood Canopy Tours), then on to Half Moon Bay where we enjoyed good food, window shopping, long conversations, watching airplanes land and a lot of laughing! We also took a book to read together.
I wrote a bit about this book in a post a couple of months ago titled Relationships. The book, Love and War by John and Stasi Eldredge is the most helpful guideline we’ve discovered for our marriage. We’re reading through it a second time. That’s how good it is!
One of the challenges of dating online from two different continents was the sporadic, cyber life we inhabited. Writing emails and long Skype chats gave us the benefit of knowing so many details about each other; our emotional roots went deep. But we missed out on daily dating life which could have enlightened us about our dysfunctional ways of relating. Love and War is helping us understand our messed up perspectives, and what to do about them.
Like many couples, we’ve harbored messed up perspectives regarding sex. Negative childhood experiences, societal messages and lack of understanding this awesome God ordained ecstasy all contributed to our twisted perceptions. John and Stasi Eldredge offer some intriguing and fabulous insights about sex, why we end up with warped ideas and what to do about it. We’re learning a lot.
So at one point during our anniversary get away (sorry, no specific details here!), we discussed our intimacy while lying in each other’s arms. Part of the discourse went something like this:
“Honey, I’m thinking that sex can be analogous to two things,” I mused.
“What’s that, darling?”
“Well, I think it can be like a wedding feast. You know, like Chris and Sabina’s wedding (Chris is our son in Poland who just got married in November); hours of eating, dancing, drinking and toasting, fun and spending great time in relational celebration. Making love should be a celebration of intimacy, relationship and good things.”
“I think you’re right. What’s the other analogy?” Brendan asked. He loves analogies.
“Sex can also be like fast food. Quick, without substance or much thought and no intimacy. I mean they both satisfy a need; get the job done, but isn’t a feast better than a Big Mac?”
“Yeah,” he paused to kiss me. “It is.”
We shared another kiss and felt the promise of feasting stir our hunger.
“Brendan?” I murmured.
“Yes, darling?”
“You know I’m going to have to blog about this, right?”
“I reckoned you would,” he chuckled.
The weekend feast surpassed our expectations. Thank you John and Stasi.
Laura Bennet - Author 
Loved your honesty. I laughed out loud. Your hubby is a good sport.
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Thanks Tracy! I’m always hopeful that the situations I find humorous will entertain someone else. And yes, Brendan was a good sport (although a bit cautious) to let me post something so personal. But, since God created us to enjoy intimacy with our spouse, we want to get that positive message out to others, as well as the honesty that sometimes we’re tweaked in how we view things and it doesn’t always play out the way we hope it will. Thanks for your support!
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Isn’t that the truth. Years ago, a woman columnist wrote humourous weekly pieces and they all centered around her children, and husband. I eagerly waited to read them. She wrote like Erma Bombeck. Perhaps, you’re the next Erma. Laughter is good medicine for the soul.
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