Nudity

We can add this week's topic to my list of things I never thought I'd discuss on a blog.

And perhaps this would be a good idea for all the three men who read this to leave the room. Don't you have a lawn to mow? Or something sporty and sweaty to do? Go on now, scoot...

Ladies, I have to let you in on a little secret: Your husband wants to see you naked.

Now, if you're anything like me, you're a person who goes to great lengths to avoid being naked. I'm still waiting for someone to invent the shower suit so I don't even have to shower in the buff.

Even when I'm happiest with my body, when I've been working out consistently and eating right, I just don't feel that comfortable without clothes. But despite that, I have a husband who wants to see as much of me as he can.

The Shulamite woman in the Song of Solomon also had a frisky man who adored her body. Just look at all the beautiful things he had to say about her in Chapter 7 of the book.

 ¹ How beautiful your sandaled feet,
       O prince's daughter!
       Your graceful legs are like jewels,
       the work of a craftsman's hands.

 ² Your navel is a rounded goblet
       that never lacks blended wine.
       Your waist is a mound of wheat
       encircled by lilies.

 ³ Your breasts are like two fawns,
       twins of a gazelle.

 ⁴ Your neck is like an ivory tower.
       Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
       by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
       Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
       looking toward Damascus.

 ⁵ Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
       Your hair is like royal tapestry;
       the king is held captive by its tresses.

 ⁶ How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
       O love, with your delights!

 ⁷ Your stature is like that of the palm,
       and your breasts like clusters of fruit.

 ⁸ I said, "I will climb the palm tree;
       I will take hold of its fruit."
       May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine,
       the fragrance of your breath like apples,

 ⁹ and your mouth like the best wine.

Is it getting hot in here?

Do you see what he did there? He basically looked her up and down and then described all of the amazing attributes of her body. And those descriptions were quite graphic, if I do say so myself.

You may remember my post about body issues. Since that post, I've made an effort to see myself as Big A sees me. I can't say I feel 100% comfortable in my own skin, but I feel better. And even when I don't, I'm trying. Sometimes failing, but always trying.

We've talked before here about how men are visual. It's the way God created them. Can't you just imagine Adam's eyes popping out of their sockets when he saw Eve for the first time? When God presented her to him and said, "She is for you," Adam was probably going ga-ga.

The truth is men crave the sight of a woman's body. To them, it's intriguing and arousing and there's nothing quite like it. And I'm starting to see that withholding this very basic need from him because of my own insecurity is pretty selfish.

If you're in the same boat, I encourage you this week to let your husband see all of you. He wants to see you confidently naked, with no reservations about what looks out of place or what is sagging. So undress for him (from what I've heard, the slower you undress, the better). Do a provocative dance. Leave the lights on. Don't allow your sexiness to be based on what you think your body looks like. Let it be based on the desire you see in your husband's eyes. Trust me, he's seeing the fawns and gazelles (and the towers and the tapestry), not the flab and the flaws that you've been focusing on.