MEN-O-Pause........................

MEN-O-Pause…
Last week I talked my husband and another couple into going to see “Menopause-The Musical.” My husband was a really good sport. There were two words in that title he never thought he would find entertaining-“menopause” and “musical.”
There were four women in this play that sang and danced for an hour and a half without any intermissions. They all looked too young to know what they were singing about, but the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s styled songs were very accurate.
There were more women than men at the play, but you saw every head nodding at one time or another in agreement with one of the poignant songs.
One actress sang a sultry “We’re Having a Heat Wave, A Tropical Heat Wave”, then another sang the old Bee Gee’s favorite “Night Sweats”, I mean “Night Fever!”
As the cast discussed how tired they were because of this particular season of their life, they went into full chorus with “Puff, My God, I’m Draggin’.”
As the play went on to explore the many personalities of women in menopause, the actors sang, “The Great Pretender.” Then, discussing the various pills they consumed to dig themselves out of depression, they sang “A New Attitude.”
There were a couple of women sitting behind us making observations about how men should be more understanding and, somehow, are responsible for this female malady. They also were contemplating how many words have “men” in them such as “menopause, mental illness, menstrual cramps, menacing and meningitis. They further observed that it appears that all problems begin with “men!” I’m sure there are many men who believe all problems of this world begin with women.
Take, for example, the story of Adam and Eve. They were given a beautiful, lush environment to live in with everything they needed. Within all this beauty, they had only one rule-do not eat from the
“tree of knowledge.” Genesis 2:9, 16-17.
Eve, obviously, was not a fan of rules much because she was told by a snake that it would be okay to eat from that tree even though her Creator told her not to. Eve made a conscious decision to be disobedient to God and justified it by believing God really didn’t mean what He said. That concept created a whole other world of future problems for men and women.
And, when confronted by God, what did Adam do? He did the most logical thing-he blamed the woman! When God confronted the woman, she blamed the slimy snake. Neither of them wanted to accept responsibility for their own actions.
Can you imagine how bad Eve felt after she figured out how bad this decision was? God had provided everything she needed in her life. She didn’t have to do anything but enjoy it. She realized she was naked and tried to hide from God, but He is the Creator, He knows everything about everything. This probably was the beginning of women having negative body image issues.
I’m not sure why God gave us that “free will” stuff because it usually gets me into trouble. Unfortunately, I know myself well enough to know that I would have done the same thing Eve did. I know that I can justify to myself that God isn’t paying attention or that He really didn’t mean what He said in scripture, He was only making suggestions.
Part of my daily devotions is that God will just take over for me. I know that I can be my own worst enemy. He knows that, too, and loves me in spite of myself! That gives me the faith I need to live my life.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
David advises us, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in men.” Psalm 118:8
Now THAT will make you take PAUSE!