“I feel like I’ve been walking in circles for a long time.”

“I can’t concentrate.”

“I’m in a fog most of the time.”

 “I know I came upstairs for a reason, but I can’t remember it!”

“I just want to be alone. If only they would be quiet for 5 minutes!”

If I could have a dollar for each time I either thought or said one of these things for the past couple of years, I would be rich by now.

It’s like something got a hold of my brain… and froze it.

On some days, I thought I was going crazy. On others, a typical fear that cancer survivors have would get a hold of my heart… Could the cancer be back, this time, in my brain?

Guilt, fear, confusion, sadness… on some days, these awful feelings took turns, tormenting me off and on throughout the day.

“What is going on, Lord? Have I disappointed You?”

 “Is there sin in my life? Please show me, Lord!”

“In the Name of Jesus, devil – go away!”

It’s true – only by the grace of God have I been able to continue doing what He has called me to do for the past two years. Writing has been difficult, praying has been hard, and on some days… just being around the people I love was a burden.

Hormonal changes.

Sigh.

Yep. I know, I know. TMI.

If you are a man, or a girl in her 20’s or 30’s, please bear with me. There are many gals out there who need this message today.

My daddy is an amusing fellow. He’s 83 years old and has a wonderful outlook in life. He is grateful for each morning and has a positive attitude, most of the time. But if you ask him about old age, he will tell you straight up:

“I don’t know why they call it the Golden Years. There’s nothing shiny about it.”

Yep. I’m with you, daddy.

I’m still far from reaching my “golden years,” but an early menopause has given me a taste of what is to come… And I don’t like it. Not.One.Bit. Call me vain, but is there anyone who enjoys the first signs of wrinkles? Hot flashes? Brain fog?

Sorry, y’all – but this Jesus-loving, Bible-believing girl won’t lie: It “ain’t” fun.

And it’s ok to say so.

Changes in life, even those absolutely natural, were not meant to be easy. And there’s nothing wrong with admitting that we are not doing so good. It does not make us weak Christians. It makes us real people.

Truth be told, even though there are women who go through menopause without many changes or concerns, the greatest majority suffers. And without proper help, something that is a natural part of life can become a dark, deep valley.

Mountain Highs and Valley Lows

Some time ago, my husband showed me this picture:

It’s a simple, childish drawing, yet pregnant with deep meaning.

If we could draw the plan for our lives, it would certainly be a straight line: We would be born, go through school getting all A’s, get into our college of choice (with a full-ride scholarship, mind you), meet our sweetheart on the last year of college, get married (and sweetheart would be a rich and godly man), have wonderful, beautiful, healthy and uber smart kiddos, hold hands with our boo ‘til we both reach those ‘Golden Years’ (and of course – they would be shiny, menopause-free too!)… and finally die, in our sleep, smiling… just to wake up and see our Lord face to face.

Ahhh! A straight, clean and clear path!

But you and I know better.

And so does Yahweh.

God has better plans for us. And His plan has two main objectives: Make us increasingly more like Jesus… and use us to bring others to Him. And He cannot accomplish this without those valley lows and storms, as shown in the picture.

Getting older and all the good stuff that comes with it – including the dreadful menopause – they are all tools that He can use to bring us closer to Him.

The questions is… how should we respond?

First of all – thank Heavens! There is help. Right here, on earth. Help with arms, and feet… and a brain!

I am so grateful we live at a day and age when God has given men and women wisdom to develop treatments that can help us navigate life’s valleys without losing our minds!
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Let me tell you, girlfriend: God uses various means to bring healing to you. And doctors and medications are certainly one of them. If you need hormonal replacement therapy, there are many safer, more natural options out there. Talk to someone. Help your body through this valley. Your family will be grateful you did (as my husband says “Amen” in the background.)

Secondly, but certainly most importantly, remember this:

God.Sees.YOU.

He knit you together in your mother’s womb… all the days ordained for you were written in His book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:15-16), including the bad, dark days. Yes, including the days when this uninvited, unwelcome guest called menopause barges in.

The valleys and difficult natural phases we go through in this fallen world were not meant to destroy us, but rather, strengthen us. The deep waters won’t drown you. The sadness won’t overcome you. He will take you from the valley to the plains, from the storm to the mountaintop… and, in the process, oh – this glorious thought:

On the other side of each hardship, you'll become less like you, and more like Jesus.
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Today, I am here to testify, that even though I was tempted not to seek help, due to prejudice, I admit… I am so glad I did! The clouds have slowly lifted from my head, and I smile again. Best of all! I can pray, read my bible without losing my train of thoughts. I can sit and be still before my God for a long time…

Nothing is worth risking that marvelous communion. Don’t you agree?

 

Praise you, Father!

Thank you that the waters of confusion did not drown me. Thank you for giving me the wisdom to seek the help I needed to come out of the valley, and into Your light, once again. May these words bring hope to someone who is hurting… and light to someone who was confused as I was, not too long ago. And to You, not medications or doctors…but to YOU ALONE be the glory, forever and ever! 

Amen.

PS: If you are suffering through menopause, leave a comment below and I promise to pray for you!

The post Menopause: Unwanted, Unwelcome Guest appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

Pictures of hurricanes have always fascinated me. Whirlwinds of such monstrous proportions that they can be seen from outer space, with a peaceful, small place in the middle. The eye of the hurricane. Measuring about 12-30 miles in diameter, the eye of a hurricane is the point about which the rest of the storm rotates and where the lowest surface pressures are found. Skies are often clear and winds are relatively light there. It’s the calmest section of the storm. Right in the midst of such turmoil and destruction, there lays a place of rest, peace, beauty even.

I thought about the eye of the hurricane as I lay down in the center of a CT scanner yesterday. As I looked up at the huge circle around me, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of unrest as the dye started flowing into my veins. The substance always gives me an uncomfortable flush and speeds my heart up a bit. As I breathed in and out, slowly, I thought about the results, and whether I will have the joy of celebrating another year cancer-free. Right there, in the center of the CT scanner ring, as I said a prayer of thanksgiving for whatever lot God allows, my heartbeat slowed down and I found myself smiling. Peaceful rest. Blessed assurance. The eye of the storm.

When hurricane hunters fly out on a mission to measure the pressure within the eye of a hurricane, they know that they’ll face terrible elements on their way. Regardless, they fly on, determined to withstand whatever threat there may be, keeping their focus on their destination: the place where the storm can be measured with precision, and stillness surrounds the plane.

Likewise, when it comes to life’s storms, if indeed we believe that God is in control and that he doesn’t allow anything in our lives without a purpose, instead of allowing our minds to wander to places of hopelessness and despair, we should press on through the storms, determined to find a place of stillness before God. As 19th century evangelist Hannah Whitall Smith once said: “Nothing so greatly hinders the work of God’s unseen spiritual forces, upon which our success in everything truly depends, as the spirit of unrest and anxiety. There is tremendous power in stillness.”

The eye of the storm is a familiar place to me. A peace that words cannot describe, men cannot explain, and every external assurance can never provide. It’s a peace that doesn’t depend on a good outcome. It’s supernatural peace. God’s peace. And it’s completely attainable, if only we deliberately seek God’s face, affirming our belief that he loves us and works all things together for our good and his glory. It’s praying instead of despairing. It’s spending time in his word. It’s remembering his goodness and grace to us through the years. Only then can we truly find the peace in the midst of life’s storms: The eye of the hurricane.

Patricia Holbrook is a Christian author and national conference speaker. Her first book, “Twelve Inches: Bridging
the Gap Between What You Know About God and How You Feel,” is now available on Kindle, and paperback at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon and other retailers. Visit her blog to read her devotionals at www.soaringwithhim.com or email her atpholbrook@soaringwithhim.com .

The post Finding Peace in the Midst of the Storms – Atlanta Journal Constitution Column appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.