Permission

What a refreshing perspective Lorraine Pintus brings to the subject of Intimate Issues…also the title of the book she co-authored with Linda Dillow.

You know my favorite word she mentioned today?

Permission.

Though I’m not married, the word I so often seem to find associated with sex and intimacy is expectation. I hear my married friends talk about what their husbands expect…or what they expect of their husbands. Magazine articles talk about how to spice up the expectations. It seems to boil down to duty over desire.

And quite frankly, that makes me sad. It makes me sad because I have high hopes that someday if I do get married, there actually could be such a thing as intimacy and not just a list of expectations.

And Lorraine gave permission. Permission for husbands and wives to step outside the realm of expectation to talk to each other about what is important. Permission for wives to approach God in all honesty and ask for the desires of the heart. Permission for husbands and wives to decide to serve each other instead of demanding each other.  Permission to invite God to be part of sex and intimacy.

Permission. What a beautiful exhale.