I wonder if you can remember the last sermon you heard in church that mentioned anything about periods.
Other than one on Leviticus, I doubt periods get much mention from the pulpit in our churches. But what about conversations with our Christian friends or in our one-to-one’s – do we talk about our experience with periods then? If you are anything like me, these conversations can be few and far between. Even when they do come up, it is often in a hushed, slightly embarrassed tone.
It is interesting, isn’t it? For something that impacts roughly 50% of the population, periods don’t get a lot of airtime in our conversations. However, they are a fact of life, and a fact of life which can have a profound effect on some women. For some women, and maybe for some of you, periods are a painful experience which come around all too quickly. For some, periods are just a monthly inconvenience, while for others, periods are an agonising reminder of unwanted infertility; the presence of their period meaning another month not pregnant.
As Christian women, whatever our experience, we should be able to talk about our periods biblically and see how the reality of our faith speaks into this aspect of our human existence. Do we know what the Bible has to say about this aspect of our female existence? Does it even say anything helpful at all?
This is where Rachel Jones’ new book, A Brief Theology of Periods (yes, really) is a welcome breath of fresh air. Rachel winsomely explains why this area of life is something as Christians we should think biblically about. Her book is particularly pertinent, as the world around us is becoming increasingly more vocal on the subject of periods. Some of what they have to say is hugely helpful, but as Rachel says, “nothing we read or watch or listen to is ideologically neutral-it’s all subtly (or not so subtly) telling us how to think or act.” Therefore, we need to be equipping ourselves to engage with this topic, so that we will be able “to shift truth from error, to identify wisdom amid the folly, and to have all our thinking shaped by God’s word”.
In each short chapter Rachel covers different aspects of our periods; from the biological process PMT, to the menopause. She connects these aspects to the Bible in a way that is engaging and easy to understand. She sensitively addresses the pain and suffering many women face because of their periods and helps us to understand why periods are a part of this world. She also tackles some of the big questions we might have about how the Old Testament talks about periods. In doing so, she encourages us not to consider our periods as something to be ashamed of. Instead, they are “a jarring picture of what it means to live in a mixed-up world on its way to redemption.”
With remarkable clarity Rachel also helps us see that periods even have something to tell us about God and the gospel. They are not something to be endured or ignored. Instead Rachel says they are “something that reminds us of the spiritual realities that underpin our existence, and that presents us with an opportunity to fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus”.
That might seem strange to you, but as I read Rachel’s book, I was challenged to view my periods differently. I won’t give away all that she says, (do buy your own copy!) but the pain I experience each month can be an opportunity to remind myself of the truth that this world isn’t the way God intended it to be. As I bear through the pain, I can hold to the promise that one day all this pain will be banished. I have the hope of an eternity with Christ to look forward to.
Periods, and all that come with them, are not one of the most joyous aspects of what it means to be a woman. But even this aspect of womanhood can help you and me understand more of what it means to live in this fallen world, and can point us to Christ.
