Seven Days to “The Intimacy You Crave” Bible Planနမူနာ

Spicy

I have felt shame in regard to my sensuality. Have you?

God made us as sexual beings. To deny our sexuality is to deny the very fabric of how we were formed. Pleasure is one of the many kaleidoscopes of which our bodies were designed.

On the TV sitcom Modern Family… A married couple, characters Phil and Claire, decide to be a bit adventurous on their Valentine’s evening date by doing some role playing. Phil, wearing a name tag reading “Clive,” sits on a stool waiting for his wife, Claire, playing “Julianna,” to return from the ladies’ room. She walks up to “Clive” wearing a trench coat with nothing underneath and suggests they leave. 

Phil says, “This is so much better than cheesy garlic bread.” 

While on an escalator, Claire’s coat gets caught. With exasperation she says, “Phil! Phil! My coat is stuck!” 

He says, “Who’s Phil?”

She replies, “No! Not now, seriously, my coat is stuck.” Understanding their dilemma, Phil says, “Oh, oh, take off your coat.”

“Are you kidding me?!” she shrieks. As they reach the top of the escalator, Phil dives and hits the red button. The conveyor stops. 

They start running into people they know with multiple inquiries of why she won’t just take off her coat. 

Phil shoos them all off. Still stuck, Claire says, “That was the most embarrassing moment of my life.” 

Then. . .Claire hears the sound of her dad’s voice calling her name. Jay, Claire’s dad, and Gloria, her stepmother, just happen to be strolling by. When Jay sees her paralyzed against the handrail, he asks, “Are you naked under that coat?” Realizing she is, he says, “Oh jeez!”

Gloria jumps into action and says, “It’s okay, I got this.” Gloria takes her own coat, puts it around Claire, and then helps her out from the trench coat, which is jammed tightly in the conveyor. 

Claire says, “Thank you.”

Gloria responds, “It has happened to me before.”

This is why I love this scene: Gloria didn’t shame Claire. She didn’t lecture her. Nor did she say anything embarrassing. Instead, she said, “It has happened to me before,” giving full acceptance and understanding.* 

Girl!… This is me offering you my coat in sisterhood support. Free yourself up. No judgment. No embarrassment. Full acceptance. Embrace and explore your sensuality.

So what? Do you find that shame creeps in when you have “adult alone time”? If so, work at releasing these sabotage falsehoods. Take whatever steps necessary, including seeking out a professional, to quiet those lies. You are valuable and worth it. 

Dear God, help me to fully love and accept all parts of the way I was created including my sexuality. 

*Modern Family, season 1, episode 15, “My Funky Valentine,” directed by Michael Spiller, written by Jerry Collins, aired February 10, 2010, on ABC.