For women only...

I'm going to write a book. And I'm going to title it The 40 Something Series: Hope For the Night Sweats. But first...I must find some hope for the night sweats! Seriously y'all! It's totally whacked! And annoying. And gross. And can any of you 50-somethings out there help a little sister out and tell me if this madness will ever end?

These are the times when I wish I could sit down with Ruth, Mary, Sarah, and Martha (although she might get mad at me for being whiny) over coffee and say, "How in the world do I do this with grace? And...how...I mean...HOW do I use it for God's glory?"

I guess this is why I'm doing a study on the book of James at this juncture in my life. He's a no nonsense kind of guy and tells us straight up how it is...and that it is possible to have joy in the midst of troubles. Now...I'm fairly certain that he never had to consider night sweats pure joy. Unless his wife dealt with them...and if that was the case...then he had to deal with them, too. Who knows? At one point in my life...no...two. Two times in my life. Ok...several times in my life, something as small and annoying as night sweats could have been the thing that put me over the edge robbing me of any and all joy. And still...when I wake up in the middle of the night drenched from head to toe and stumble out of bed to get to the closet to find some dry pajamas, and I have to drag my leg behind me because it is still asleep and won't cooperate, I'm not gonna lie...joy is not the first thing I reach for. But. It's getting easier. And He's making me better. And although I have my moments and seasons like this where I'm a hot mess...literally...He's wrapping up joy in a big ole bow and just giving it to me. And none of it is because of me. It's just what He does for us when we bring our bruised, tattered, broken, and...sweaty...selves to Him.

A perfect gift to an imperfect person in an imperfect world. The night sweats will not bring me down! And that...y'all...brings me joy.

Oh...and to my 30-something friends, I want to say to you precious girls...just wait! Just. Wait!