成人快手

Good morning.
鈥淚n Christ, all shall be made alive.鈥� I read these words from 1 Corinthians on an altar frontal at Manchester Cathedral. I was there to give a talk about menopause and faith, but the image below these words, an exquisitely embroidered phoenix, rising from the ashes, spoke far more eloquently about the menopause experience than anything I said in my talk. It can be a time of trial for lots of women, beset by physical and emotional symptoms which might raise life as you know it to the ground, but it can also be a time for restoration and renewal. All shall be made alive combined with the image of the phoenix, reminds me that it鈥檚 possible to create new life from ashes.
Today is World Menopause Day which is an invitation to speak openly about that most universal of symptoms, reported by women globally and cross-culturally, and which in Britain we call the hot flush. They can be temporarily debilitating, causing numerous symptoms some of which have been reported as an intense sensation of heat to rush up from the chest into the face, often combined with palpitations, reddening of the skin, perspiration, feverishness and chills. Many women report feeling as if they were on fire.
For those who suffer from hot flushes it might not be all bad news. Research indicates that hot flushes are a response to the body鈥檚 changing conditions due to hormone fluctuations. For all that they feel disruptive, they鈥檙e an attempt to stabilise and create equilibrium. Hot flushes might feel really wrong but could also be regarded as a sign that the body is doing something right. Fire burns, destroys and kills but it also purifies and cleanses. Being on fire for God is a metaphor to describe religious fervour and fruitfulness. If menopause is a crucible, a refiners鈥� fire, then maybe there is the possibility to come out the other side with something golden.
The Phoenix altar sits underneath red and orange stained glass, an installation called The Fire Window which replaced the Victorian glass blown out during the blitz. With the light shining through you might mistake the building for still being on fire, but like the phoenix, the cathedral has been rebuilt and stands victorious, a monument to survival, and northern grit and determination. It鈥檚 glorious proof that fire might destroy and cause death, but somehow, all shall be made alive. There is life beyond the flames and it is beautiful.