"I'm five days late" my neighbor shared, "and I'm usually like clockwork. It's either the start of menopause or I'm pregnant."
Talk about extremes! As you get older a missed period takes on multiple meanings - and can that ever generate multiple responses.
My last post examined the first place in the Bible where periods are specifically mentioned - however, there is one occurrence earlier where there is an indirect mention. This occurs right after the Lord tells Abraham that in a year Sarah is going to have a son. At this time Abraham is 99 and Sarah is in her eighties...
"Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah." Genesis 18:11
Did you catch that? " The "way of women?!" What do you think that's referring to? Obviously it's something that's ceased that makes Sarah conclude she can't have a child...!
Can you imagine what it was like for Sarah, month after month hoping for a child, for decades, maybe every now and then being a few days late, holding her breath and then... those first drops of blood once again dashing hope to the ground. I'll bet she dreaded those periods - but usually it's not until menopause we realize how vital they are.
As long as there are periods, there's still the hope for next month, but once they stop...!
It took us two years to conceive our son, then three years later we conceived only to miscarry... it's now been 20 years of secondary infertility. So I've had a taste of what she went through. And I honestly can't say I'm at all fond of periods.
But it is fascinating when you look up the meaning of the Hebrew words in Genesis 18:11 you find the word for way means to wander, journey, keep company with, and figuratively can refer to the way of life or death. As menopause looms closer I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I haven't missed out on valuing something special....
What would it look like to journey with my period instead of trying to minimize it's impact on my life?
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