BIOLOGY

Before we got married, I had gone away to college. One of the mandatory courses was Biology. What exactly is biology? Biology is the scientific study of life. We had to identify the main body parts of the human reproductive system. One test, the guys had to label the female parts and the girls had to identify the male parts. We all laughed when the only married girl in the class failed the test.

It is no laughing matter. As a child my first language was Polish. The words my parents used to identify a penis translated to “birdy" and a vagina was a “ducky”. You can bet I never used those terms in public. I did learn a lot of other words I would not use either. Using proper terminology is a good thing.

I believe it is of utmost importance that family and peers are aware of a woman’s monthly hormonal rhythms. To roll one’s eyes and state “it must be that time of the month” is a great injustice to women. Especially to women who experience pre-menstrual syndrome. In our early years, people did not talk about such things. It was private. But how private can it be to have severe migraines for 2-3-4 days every month? And what about abdominal cramps so severe they cripple a woman until the blood flow eases up? What about the swollen breasts that my husband insisted were his to play with whenever he pleased? It isn’t any wonder many women are irritable during this time of the month. 

I did not experience Pre-Menstrual Syndrome until my mid thirties. I was given medical advice to get off caffeine, reduce my salt intake and do something to sweat. And it worked! Sort of. All the cramps and headaches and bloating went away. What stayed was the swollen breasts. Every month. For two to three weeks. For another twenty years. And that all went away after menopause. We will talk about that also. 

Menstruation is a beautiful thing. It is important enough that the Bible talks about it. Menstruation is a God-given gift to women as their bodies prepare for bearing children. It stops during pregnancy. It is messed up after miscarriage or abortion. 

Menstruation also messed with my husband's thought process and our sexual intimacy. My husband used to tell me that he thought about sex at least 365 times a day. I might have thought about it every other day. But that is how God wired the human male brain. To think about procreation. Communication on this topic is a also good thing. Especially if you want to enjoy staying married for 50 years.   

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:31 NIV)

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Doctor Christina Forster has been married to Ken, her Farmer Sweetie, for 52 years. Both are retired from their multi-generational, high profile Maplehurst Dairy Farm in Southern Ontario Canada and now enjoy travel together and grandparenting.

Chris has been blogging at Quilting at the Farm for 10 years engaging with quilters around the world. She holds a Master of Theological Studies and a Doctor of Ministry Christian Counseling. One of her passions is to see marriages restored by husbands and wives receiving healing of the heart, mind and spirit. This is done by allowing God to speak into painful memories through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross in the power of the Holy Spirit. She has published one book Denine: One mother's journey with a profoundly handicapped child and has several others in process.