Article February 28, 2005 Issue

MY 'CHANGE OF LIFE' PRAYER

By Beverly Goldsmith

ONE DAY I MET A FRIEND WHEN I WAS OUT shopping at a local mall. We greeted each other and stopped to chat. Our conversation was interrupted when a shop assistant from the adjacent pharmacy handed us free samples of a new sanitary napkin for menopausal women. My heart sank at the sight of it. After the shop assistant left, my friend handed me her samples, saying with a pleased smile, "Here, you have them. I don't need these anymore."

I took them with mixed emotions. I had already begun experiencing the discomfort and disturbance of menopause. And it was proving difficult. Many women I knew had found this change stressful. I'd been hearing about their experiences, the old wives' tales, as well as the physical symptoms associated with this "change of life." Worse still, I knew that I had several more years of this trying and unpleasant time to go through.

"You are so fortunate. I wish I was finished with this," I found myself saying to my friend, with great feeling. Instead of commiserating with me, she replied, "Well, you can be finished with it, too. Mine just turned off like a tap. It was simple and easy." She told me that it had ended with none of the symptoms people tell you about. For a moment, I was blown away. I'd never heard of this happening before. It was enormously encouraging. I thought, "Well, if one woman can achieve such a good result, then all of us can do the same—me included."