One February day I had lunch at the mall with two friends. As we were settling our tabs, they decided that before we left, we needed to go to Victoria’s Secret to get our husbands a Valentine’s Day gift. They had obviously done this before and seemed to be jointly aware of the plan.
My curiosity has always been much greater than my fear of others thinking I am uncool, so my imagination went into action and my mouth followed. What were they going to buy? How did they deliver the present? What were their husband’s expectations? How did this get started?
They explained their intentions were to purchase some sexy lingerie for a romantic rendezvous. They acted surprised that I wasn’t on the same page. They encouraged me to give it a try and expressed real concern for the health of my marriage. Surely, I wasn’t meeting my husband’s sexual needs by not being more creative in the bedroom.
I admit I was offended. My husband and I actually make love a lot, and enjoy it. What exactly were they implying? Would my marriage fail if I didn’t dress up and act provocatively?
I didn’t succumb to the peer pressure that day, although their words definitely caused me to worry. I did discuss it with my husband. Fortunately for me, he said he would rather I save my money and time by simply taking things off rather than putting things on.
I was thankful for my situation, but a little sad for my friends. It wasn’t their natural tendency to dress up and act provocatively. To their credit, they did it for their husbands. I do hope and pray that my daughters don’t have to live with the pressure to “please” their husbands by putting on an act. I hope they will find contentment in simply enjoying each other, naturally, as God made them.
