Awkward Alert

A topic came up recently in the women's group I belong to that was pretty sensitive. What started out in almost a whisper of confusion, shame and embarrassment became not only interesting, but relieving. The woman who brought it up truly felt as if she was the only one. She worried that opening up would end in her being ostracized, yet she carried around a burden of confusion and guilt because she wasn't sure if it was sinful. I figured I'd write about it because I realized there's probably many women who've felt the same way.

I'll try to be as dignified as I possibly can with this, but I may fail miserably. You might find the topic gross/weird or you may laugh and say to yourself "been there, done that girlfriend!" You're more than welcome to sit across the room, talk about me and stick gum in my hair. In any event, it appears to be one of those things that happens, but no one really wants to discuss for fear of being the weird girl with the funny glasses on the play ground.

Whether you breast feed/fed or not is really irrelevant. If you've been pregnant then you know about milk production. It's a miracle, weird, painful and annoying all at once. If our husbands haven't fully discovered this wonder of God by watching us nurse then they've discovered it during intimacy.

Some men are turned off by it, some find it erotic, others appreciate its value to sustain life while others find it nurturing and comforting for them. They feel it's a deep bonding experience with their other half. Breast milk certainly wouldn't be harmful for an adult, but rather healthy. Weird? Creepy? Maybe, but what I've found in my own research is it's pretty common and there's nothing to suggest it's sinful.

There are a couple of places in Scripture that alludes to a husband drinking from his wife. It can be taken literally or figuratively, depending on how we apply it to our spiritual relationship with Christ or physical relationship with our husbands, which ultimately reflects Christ as well.

"Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
May her breasts satisfy you always; may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?" Proverbs 5:18-20

I believe it's entirely up to the couple. There's some who believe milk should only be used to feed a baby. For a man to also drink from his wife is somehow depriving the baby of food. From my own experience, Darian always gets his fill with plenty left over so a famine is never a problem for me. There's some who find it gross and that's perfectly fine. As long as it's exercised in the confines of lawful marriage then there is no sin involved. To each his own, but more importantly, as Believers, we are family and shouldn't carry around burdens out of fear of being ridiculed. We're here to edify, help, pray, bear with and comfort one another safely and lovingly.

*End awkward moment*