Okay ladies, I thought this happened when we hit 60. Oh, how wrong I have been. These mood swings and hot flashes, yikes. I feel like I am living in a constant fog. You know, driving on one those cool days where the heat is rising and the fog appears. Or wait, do I have that backwards? I can't remember what I did twenty minutes ago. My husband can ask me something about yesterday and I find myself looking at him like, "Are you kidding me, you want me to remember that?"
I mean really, is there some big surprise after menopause I don't know about? I don't want something else to sneak up on me unexpected. Gosh, being thirteen is bad enough. The day comes and Flo comes for a visit and you think your life is ending. It's not like PMS is a walk in the park. You have your children. Things finally begin to calm down and here again you have another unwanted visitor in your life. There is no room for hot flashes and mood swings. Just ask my husband who is constantly saying, "Honey, it's not hot in here." I don't even know what to name this visitor. I mean, gosh, how long does she plan on staying?
Being a woman is confusing enough. Again, here is change once more. I remember long ago this was a subject no one spoke of. I never remember my mom talking about this. It was almost as though it was shameful. Maybe we are just too open today and we talk about everything. But shouldn't we? When we share we know we are not alone. We know others are going through the same things as we are. It doesn't seem so scary when you know your not the only one. I love having girlfriends to chat with. Why do we feel like this needs to be hushed? It is part of life. It is part of who we are. Together we can face this with a positive attitude.
I had a friend share with me a few days ago that she thought she was getting old. She happens to be younger than me. LOL Now, that was just not nice at all. We have television and magazines to thank for that feeling. We hide our age. I am proud to share with others that I am 44 years old. I have no fear of getting older. Now ask me that that when I hit 50 and my answer might change. Hollywood shuns those actors who begin to age. It's like they are just pushed aside for younger, prettier women who are much thinner and taller. I must be honest. I wouldn't want to go back to twenty. This February 14th my husband and I will be married for twenty years. During these twenty years I have grown so much. I am not the same person I was when we married. I am wiser. I am softer. I am more beautiful inside and out. Yes, we can say we are beautiful. We should feel beautiful. We should be proud of who God created us to be. I will never be that size 2 model that happens to be 5'9. I am barely 5'4 and my legs are anything but long.
Just a few days ago while watching television I spoke out loud not meaning to. I said, "Wow, look at her. She is so pretty. She is tall and slender." My husband took my hand and shared how he thought I was beautiful. Of course, there were those tears once more. The mirror doesn't have to be an enemy. Why do we continually compare ourselves to others? We put ourselves down and think we are less beautiful than another. Why? It's one of Satan's tricks to crush our spirits and make us feel unworthy. You know exactly what I mean don't you? I challenged our Awana class to look into the mirror each day this week and find something beautiful that they like about themselves and one thing they can work on. Do you know how much easier it was for them to think of what they can improve on than what they like about themselves? What message are we giving to our daughters and sons if we ourselves cannot find beauty in us?
Ladies, change happens. Our hair turns gray and our body no longer looks like we are twenty. Cellulite hits our thighs just at the thought of ice cream sundays. Our knees get weak. Our backs get sore. Everything about us changes. But the amazing thing? We too change with our bodies. We can take care of this body that God gave us. It's the only one we will ever have. We can exercise and eat right. We can eat those veggies and stay away from sugar. We can walk instead of taking the stairs. We can enjoy every minute of our lives. We can look up to those who are older than us and be examples for those coming in age.
Carry your bible with you. Place it right next to your bed. When you wake up and kick those blankets off grab your bible. Read Psalm 139 and let God remind you just how beautiful you are in His sight. Be who you are. Be yourself! May we teach our daughters what real beauty is. It's not what size you wear or the color of your hair. It's not Hollywood. It's those quirky things that make you, YOU!! It's your heart and your imprint you leave on this world.
It's exciting to be a woman of change. Really, it is. We don't have to hide what's going on. All we have to do is just be us. Look just how much we have to share with others now. With each passing year hot has new definitions and as women we can make up our own as we go!!
