Rubbing my face with a towel, I ignored the leftover mascara on my cheekbones and headed to bed … really tired. I felt a strange sensation on my ankle and looked down to see that a long thread from the hem of my tank top was dragging the floor, wrapped around my foot. I snapped the thread off, careful not to damage my “good” pajama top.  After all, I thought, it’s served me well for twenty-one years. TWENTY-ONE YEARS!?!?!

“It can’t be true,”  I told myself, but it was. Not only did the miscellaneous tank top clash with my random bottoms, but it’s been around longer than our high school age daughter. Loud and clear, my pj’s were talking, and they were saying I have gotten into the habit of coming to bed without much thought or preparation.

I dropped down in bed next to Jeff, crossing my arms under my head to ponder my predicament. Was I always like this? Jeff turned to look at me, and I became painfully aware that I hadn’t shaved under my arms, and my old tank top wasn’t hiding it. I stuffed my arms under the covers and said goodnight. 

How are you coming to bed at night? What message does your “condition” send to your bedmate? While real love and life are a far cry from the image reality tv shows attempt to sell us, we can’t turn a blind eye (with bags under it, mind you) to God’s standard for keeping ourselves and what we “say” to our lover by our “self keeping.”

When Proverbs challenges a husband to find satisfaction in his wife, we catch a glimpse of God’s plan for how a woman prepares and presents herself to her mate:

“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.”  (From Proverbs 5:15-19)

Lovely? Graceful? Delight? Intoxicating? This picture is one of beauty and preparation, presenting your best self in a way that is to be enjoyed. The fountain of the blessed marriage is a far cry from the stagnate, frayed, and worn bride that many of us drag to bed each night. 

Maybe it’s time to get rid of my tank top … and shave under my arms … and use a little makeup remover. I would be a lot more “intoxicating.” Maybe it’s time to prepare myself to be beautiful at one of the sweetest times of the day, the end. 

You?

Rubbing my face with a towel, I ignored the leftover mascara on my cheekbones and headed to bed … really tired. I felt a strange sensation on my ankle and looked down to see that a long thread from the hem of my tank top was dragging the floor, wrapped around my foot. I snapped the thread off, careful not to damage my “good” pajama top.  After all, I thought, it’s served me well for twenty-one years. TWENTY-ONE YEARS!?!?!

“It can’t be true,”  I told myself, but it was. Not only did the miscellaneous tank top clash with my random bottoms, but it’s been around longer than our high school age daughter. Loud and clear, my pj’s were talking, and they were saying I have gotten into the habit of coming to bed without much thought or preparation.

I dropped down in bed next to Jeff, crossing my arms under my head to ponder my predicament. Was I always like this? Jeff turned to look at me, and I became painfully aware that I hadn’t shaved under my arms, and my old tank top wasn’t hiding it. I stuffed my arms under the covers and said goodnight. 

How are you coming to bed at night? What message does your “condition” send to your bedmate? While real love and life are a far cry from the image reality tv shows attempt to sell us, we can’t turn a blind eye (with bags under it, mind you) to God’s standard for keeping ourselves and what we “say” to our lover by our “self keeping.”

When Proverbs challenges a husband to find satisfaction in his wife, we catch a glimpse of God’s plan for how a woman prepares and presents herself to her mate:

“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.”  (From Proverbs 5:15-19)

Lovely? Graceful? Delight? Intoxicating? This picture is one of beauty and preparation, presenting your best self in a way that is to be enjoyed. The fountain of the blessed marriage is a far cry from the stagnate, frayed, and worn bride that many of us drag to bed each night. 

Maybe it’s time to get rid of my tank top … and shave under my arms … and use a little makeup remover. I would be a lot more “intoxicating.” Maybe it’s time to prepare myself to be beautiful at one of the sweetest times of the day, the end. 

You?