Solomon’s proverb warning his son about an adulteress is found in Proverbs chapter 7.
Solomon described looking through a window and seeing a young man. The youth walked in the direction of a woman’s house. The woman came out to meet him. Unashamedly, she invited the young man into her home to spend the night making love with her. Enticingly, she described her bed perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon, the most fragrant substances in nature.
The Old Testament aloe tree was the eaglewood tree. Aloes are associated with beauty and with aphrodisiacs. An aphrodisiac is a substance, e.g., drink, smell, or food, believed to arouse sexual desire or pleasure.
As a young bride, I imagined creating a home for my husband that invited love and sexual desire. It would be filled with pleasant aromas from fragrant candles and simmering potpourri. Bed linens would be kept in a closet with perfumed sachets that would imbue the linens with their fragrance. Hmmm, I learned quickly that my husband became “stuffed up” by the perfumed air in the house and on the bed linens. Those fragrances didn’t arouse him to sexual desire, but to sneezing and coughing.
To my husband, an aphrodisiac was something different than my perspective. His point of view can best be described by a story. We were newly engaged and my birthday arrived. I was excited to see what Bruce would get me. Would it be flowers or a floral perfume which I loved? He came into the house with a beautifully wrapped box that was about 5 by 18 inches. What could it be? As quickly as possible while still trying to be graceful, I removed the ribbon and paper and opened the box. It was… it was…. it was a fishing rod and reel! Bruce was so excited. Immediately, he showed me how to put the rod together, admiring its tensile strength. He talked about the fishing trips we could take. But, I did not fish!
Through my married life’s odyssey, I have learned to love fishing and I still have that fishing rod. To Bruce seeing me wading streams, casting a line, and occasionally pulling in a fish is an aphrodisiac. He gets so excited when taking me fishing that sometimes he doesn’t fish. He stays available in the event I lose my fly or get my line tangled. Sexual arousal, excitement, and stimulation come in many ways. Hopefully, starry-eyed young women grow into mature, loving wives.
Reflection: God knows our need for sexual pleasure and love; his plan is that they occur together.
Life's Odyssey 
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