Sex in the Sanctuary

by Lutishia Lovely

  First lady Carla Lee approached the podium to introduce Vivian for the final message of the conference. Carla’s down-to-earth personality and straight, honest, often humorous speech made her another conference favorite. She had single-handedly lifted the spirits of every overweight woman who’d attended by telling them that the more there was of them, the more there was to love and hefty didn’t have to mean unhealthy, among other “Carla-dotes.” So many people had requested copies of her lectures that Vivian had encouraged Carla to write a book containing her zany phrases and uplifting words. Carla took a moment to scan the audience before speaking, a warm smile on her face reflecting the glow in her heart. She actually looked like the sun, resplendent in a canary yellow, double-breasted suit.

  “Ladies, ladies, ladies!” she began exuberantly. “If this isn’t the most beautiful gathering of women I’ve seen in my entire life, I’ll pay for lying! Y’all look like you are daughters of the Most High, His precious brides! My God! I’m seeing a pinnacle of princesses, royal highnesses in the apex of their lives! I see destiny and purpose in your stride and the view of zenith in your eyes! Is this the royal priesthood? My God! I believe I’m in a room filled with women who are more than conquerors, who are above only and not beneath, who are the heads and not the tails and,” Carla added slyly, “I mean ‘tail’ in all ways imaginable.”

  The crowd, which had gotten to its feet and begun applauding as she spoke, laughed in unison at her last statement. There was whooping and high-fives all over the place. The camaraderie was palpable and exciting—the ladies were on a God-induced high.

  “This has been an incredible summit, and well worth it. But like all good things, this has come to an end. I am privileged and delighted to present to you now, for the final remarks, the woman in whom God placed the burden and the vision for what you’ve just experienced, the woman who has a heart for not only the sisters in her congregation, but for women everywhere. She is a woman who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. And, baby! Can’t nobody walk the walk like Sister Viv!” Carla turned to address her friend. “Girl, you better wear that Donna Karan ’cause you’re looking so good, I want to slap you myself!” Vivian shook her head at her boisterous friend, joining with the audience in laughter as Carla turned back to address the crowd. “Women of God, I present my friend and sister in the faith, Sister Vivian Montgomery!”

  Most of the crowd was already standing. Those who were not, got to their feet when Vivian approached the podium and showered her with sustained applause. Bouquets of flowers were presented to her amid shouts of “We love you, Sister Vivian” and a few “You go, girl.” Vivian’s eyes misted as she looked out on the sea of women, a rainbow of beauty and vulnerability, hope and determination. She was embarrassed by the open display of affection and tried several times to quiet the crowd before they took their seats to hear her final comments.

  “I feel like the standin who accepts the award when the actual winner is not available. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m only partly responsible for putting this conference together. I must tell you, however, that all the honor, all the praise, all the glory, all the kudos and congrats go to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!”

  Again, the crowd came to its feet in a cacophony of praise to God. Impromptu praise and worship kicked in, and for a full five minutes, women all over the room sent up their own shout outs and thank yous to The One who had made it all possible. Vivian grabbed a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, waiting for the crowd to calm once more.

  “And to my dear Sister Carla Lee, there’s no need to slap me, darling, ’cause everybody in this room knows that ain’t nobody bad like you!” The crowd cheered again, and many women, especially members of Carla’s congregation, stood and hooted their agreement. Carla stood up and did a three-point model turn which got many of the rest of the crowd on their feet again. Carla bowed to the crowd and bowed to Vivian before sitting back down.

  Vivian then took the time to personally thank the core members of Ladies First. She presented each one with a bouquet of roses as she called out her name. She thanked Millicent and her assistants and all of the volunteers that had helped the meetings run smoothly.

  Lastly, she acknowledged Tai. “And to our first national member, who’s been a child of God as long as I’ve known her, and I’ve known her since she was fourteen, my friend, my confidante, my covenant sister, Sister Twyla ‘Tai’ Brook.” Vivian gave Tai a big hug as she accepted her roses.

  As Tai walked back to her seat, Vivian said, “Ladies, please help me thank these wonderful women of God for their tireless service and sacrifice to the work of the Kingdom. May their labor not be in vain, may their reward come to them one hundredfold. May the desire of their hearts be fulfilled as they delight in Him!” The audience applauded, shouted and whistled their agreement. Again, Vivian waited patiently for the noise to subside.

  “When this idea, the Sanctity of Sisterhood, was first put in my heart, I asked God just what He meant by that. What message did He want me to convey? First, He took me to the dictionary and then to His Word and the concordance where He emphasized the meanings ‘set apart,’ ‘inviolable,’ ‘holy.’ One thing that really stuck out in my mind was the opposite of sanctified, which is ‘common.’ I understood then that God was calling me and the rest of His daughters to a new level of ‘uncommonness,’ calling us to dare to be different, not go with the flow, to, as one of our segments urged, ‘set the standard and dismiss the status quo.’ Turn to the sister next to you and tell her, ‘I’m uncommon. I’m unusual. I am not the status quo.’” The audience eagerly did so. This had been their mantra throughout the sessions.

  “In our research and preparation for the topics, we paid close attention to what the world in general and America in particular saw as ‘common.’ We saw that sex outside of marriage was common. Unprotected sex was common. Sex with someone other than one’s husband or wife was common. We found that common women cared not one iota if a man was involved in a serious relationship, let alone if he was married. Some women even claim to prefer married men; pleasure without pain, or so they think. We found that sex without love was common. But what did God teach us, ladies?”

  “Sex is sacred” was the shouted response.

  “Right!” agreed Vivian. “Turn to another sister and say, ‘I’m uncommon. I’m unusual. I am not the status quo.’”

  After they did so, Vivian continued with a clear and concise summary of the four-weekend conference and how each Saturday had been designed to bring the attendee to a higher level of sanctity, of relationship and closeness with God. Laughter rang out as she recounted some of the sayings from Carla and Tai’s Sacred Sex Saturday. Like one of the favorites, “If he’s gonna hit it and quit it, then don’t even get wid’it.” She reminded the women about the depth of true love: conscious love, sacred love, unconditional love, as taught in Spiritually Speaking. She finished with a national call to sisterhood.

  “There is an African proverb which states that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the nation. I believe there is some truth to that. I believe that we as women, respecting each other and ourselves, can go a long way to changing the behavior of our men and society. Yes, it takes two to tango, and no, one of them doesn’t have to be you. There are only so many prostitutes, exotic dancers and other forms of professional sex partners. If some of us ladies would start saying no to men who are not our husbands, perhaps we could start saying yes to becoming someone’s wife.

  “I’m not saying we can make men behave a certain way. I am saying that we can decide today that we will act a certain way, and the way we act is sure to influence others. We can decide to be our sister’s keeper and to admonish a sister, in love and without judgment, when we see her acting common.

  “We can, and I hope we do, decide today to love women who are hateful, pray for women who are spiteful, forgive women who are guilty and bless women who are trying. The terms of endearment of the day for women are ‘b’ and ‘ho’. W
e can become that set apart sect within our species that makes a man want to call us ‘queen’ or more important for a great deal of you, ‘wife.’

  “We in the church often talk about our relationship with God. We talk about our relationship with family. This conference, this summit, has been specifically designed to talk about and reestablish the relationship between and among women, among sisters.

  “Ladies, on behalf of the Ladies First committee and all the other women who worked so diligently to make these meetings happen, I want to thank you for being active participants in changing your lives and the lives around you. Give yourselves a hand. You deserve it.” The crowd once again came to its feet in applause.

  “Finally, I’d like you all to stand and repeat the Sanctity of Sisterhood pledge with me for the last time in this summit, but certainly not the last time in our lives. Keep this pledge close to your heart and repeat it whenever you feel the need. Call a friend and ask her to say it with you, reach out and let her know, ‘I need some help, sistah.’ Let’s support and encourage and inspire one another. We can do this—we can change the world as we change ourselves! Now, grab the hand of the one next to you, and let’s say it together for the world to hear!

  “I’m uncommon. I’m unusual. I am not the status quo Set apart, an earthly treasure—the Heavenly Father deemed it so

  Yes I am my sister’s keeper and it should be understood

  That today we stand united—The Sanctity of Sisterhood!”

  Her divine mate

  Vivian moaned contentedly as Derrick massaged the warm, scented oil all over her body. There was a perfect combination of cool breeze from the open bedroom window, mixing with the warmth from the master bedroom fireplace. Derrick’s attention was singular, to remove every kink and form of tightness he felt in Vivian’s muscles. The Jacuzzi bath had been the first step. This massage was the second. Derrick smiled, his eyes glancing briefly at the bed covered in rose petals, as he thought about the third.

  The month of September had flown by in a whirlwind. There was the S.O.S. Summit, the start of a new school year for the children, and a relentlessly hectic travel schedule for Derrick that had included two evangelical trips overseas. Derrick and Vivian rarely saw each other, and when they did, it was hardly possible to spend quality time together. No, their brief interludes of togetherness had been filled with matching schedules, exchanging itineraries and providing brief updates as to each other’s progress. The house had been crowded. Aside from the usual in-and-out traffic flow of Kingdom Citizens’ members, Vivian’s parents had spent the entire month of September with the Montgomerys, and while their help with the children was invaluable, Derrick was looking forward to a slower pace.

  He lovingly turned Vivian over on her back as he reached for the oil. “Close your eyes,” he spoke gently as Vivian stared at him with such longing and love he could barely finish his present task. He started at her feet, massaging and rubbing each toe, the heels and balls of her feet, rotating the ankles, squeezing and massaging the calves and thighs, all the while planting soft, whispery kisses along the way. He bypassed the place of his personal paradise and stroked her hips and stomach, swirling the oil over and around her navel, up and around her breasts where he dared not linger. He held each arm and as with her legs paid the utmost attention to detail with each finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder. He gently massaged her neck, which was now supple and pliant. Step two was now complete.

  Derrick stood and unloosed the belt that held his black, silk robe together, letting it fall in soft, tantalizing swirls of material at his feet. Vivian opened her eyes to see his hand outstretched toward her. She smiled and reached up to grab his hand. Once he’d pulled her to her feet, Derrick swept her off of them once again, picking her up and showering her face with kisses as he stepped up on the master bed platform and laid Vivian gently down in the bed of rose petals. The scent of the petals combined with the scent of the candles Derrick had lit earlier. These combined with the scent of the oils on her body gave Vivian a scented orgasm, with promises of more to follow.

  Derrick climbed up on the bed, covering the body he had just massaged. He kissed her fully now, his tongue moving and searching and finding and teasing. Vivian gave back what she had received, her hands tracing every part of her beloved’s back and arms and buttocks. She gasped as he bent his head and lovingly worshipped at her breasts. Continuing, he let his tongue follow the trail his hands had forged earlier, slowly, lovingly, completely. As he kissed and caressed her nether lips and suckled her tender nub, Vivian grabbed the sheets and moaned louder, her voice purring like the most satisfied of felines. Derrick took her body to the moon, and the stars surrounded her as she floated back down to earth on a cloud of fulfillment. She had barely caught her breath when he entered her, enticing her to join him in the passion dance created at the beginning of time. He moved slowly, rhythmically, pulling out to the very tip before plunging in fully, deeper and deeper still, again and again and again. Tears formed in Vivian’s eyes and ran down the sides of her face; such was the intensity of her love for him. This was her divine mate, her husband. They moved in perfect harmony. It was ecstasy. Derrick cried out in agonized bliss before spilling his seed in the depths of Vivian’s soul and collapsing on top of her, the two of them still joined together. And just like that, they fell asleep, resting deeply and dreaming sweetly of more life and love to come.

  “Was last night a dream?” Vivian asked as she stepped into the bathroom and kissed Derrick’s freshly shaved cheek.

  “If it was,” he replied, turning to kiss her lightly on the mouth, “I don’t ever want to wake up. Baby, I think that was the best love I ever had.”

  Vivian smiled as she stepped into the shower. She felt like a new woman, revitalized. She made quick work of her shower, knowing the hour was already late and Derrick would want them to leave for the church soon. She grabbed her robe and headed down the hallway to the children’s rooms. Once she was sure their getting ready was under way, she went down to the kitchen, put on water for tea and laid out a quickie breakfast spread of bagels, cereal and fruit. Tea in hand, she made her way back to her dressing room where she quickly donned a simple yet stylish ivory-colored suit with matching pumps and jewelry. Her entire ensemble was ivory and gold, right down to her panties.

  Once dressed, she again checked in on D-2 and Elisia and found they were also ready. Together they went down to the breakfast nook, each having stopped in the kitchen and grabbed their breakfast of choice. As usual, Derrick did not join them. He rarely ate until after he’d finished the Sunday morning messages. By the time Derrick arrived downstairs, Vivian and the children had eaten, and she had taken care of the breakfast dishes.

  “Are you ready, darling?” she asked, even as she reached for her purse and Bible. “D-2, where is your Bible?”

  “In the car,” he answered simply and patiently, as if he could hardly believe his mother would think he’d leave home without his Word! Vivian watched as father and son headed for the garage, and she smiled at how much D-2 was like his dad. Someday, he was going to make some woman a fine husband, and if the dad’s behavior last night was any indication, his wife would indeed be blessed beyond measure!

  It was a beautiful morning, and traffic was light as they headed toward Kingdom Citizens’ in the heart of the city. They’d been riding only a few minutes when Derrick’s cell phone rang. He hit the speaker button, and the sensuously raspy voice of Cy Taylor filled the Jag.

  “Minister Montgomery!” he began respectfully.

  “Brother Cy, what’s up, man?” Derrick responded.

  “God is good, man. Is Sister Vivian there with you?”

  “Yes, you have the full attention of the entire Montgomery family. Do I need to make this a private conversation?”

  “Oh, no, no, that’s not necessary. I just needed to speak to both of you today, between services if possible. I was wondering if you could carve out ten minutes for me then.”

  “It can’t w
ait until this afternoon?”

  “It could, but I’d rather not. You’ll understand when I talk to you. But don’t worry, it’s good news.”

  “Well, that makes me more willing to see you between services!” Derrick joked. “The last thing I need is bad news in the middle of trying to bring the good news!”

  “Then you’ll give me a couple minutes?”

  “Sure man, no problem.”

  “Hum,” Vivian began as Derrick clicked the off button on the cell phone. “Wonder what’s on Mr. Taylor’s mind.”

  Derrick looked at his watch as he turned off the highway and began winding through the streets toward the church, representing the last ten minutes of their transport. “I don’t know, darling. But we will soon find out.”

  It is our time

  There was a palpable tension emanating from Millicent as Shannon and Maurice stepped back and appraised her. Both stared. Neither spoke.

  “Well?” Millicent almost shrieked, except her voice was barely above a whisper.

  Shannon found her voice first. “You—look—absolutely—breathtaking.”

  Maurice, in his flirtatious and feminine fashion, added his opinion. “Honey, I just got three words for you: unh, unh, unh. Girl, if you wasn’t marrying somebody else, I’d reverse my faggot ass and marry you myself!” Maurice danced around the room then, punctuating the silence with peals of laughter.

  “Maurice! Watch your mouth!” Millicent admonished. But she was smiling.

  “Girl, you are looking fierce! That hair and make-up is a wonder to behold, and I am beholding! I don’t know who did it, but whoever it is, can’t nobody, nobody, compete with them.”

  Shannon cut her eyes at Maurice. “I thought you did her hair and make-up, Maurice?”