Unfortunately, as a younger woman I experienced severe PMS. Then years later that went into severe peri-menopause. No fun! I was desperate when peri-memopause set in. It was so severe I was willing to get on anti-depressants if a doctor would prescribe it. Instead of one bad week a month I had three bad ones. That’s when a friend recommended a doctor who was into prescribing bio-identical hormone replacement. I’d heard of this and it seemed that that was a very good option. So, I got an appointment with him. The first step was to get a test done that would check hormone levels and the most reliable way to test hormone levels is the saliva test. To do this you have to fill four vials half way with saliva. Kind of a yucky thought and it has to be done perfectly or the test will be contaminated. This test needs to be done every few years, and I’ve just now redone it. You have to follow many guidelines to have a clean, uncontaminated collection. My favorite sentence in the guidebook says that if you feel one of the vials is contaminated all you have to do is wash the vial with hot water, and redo. I love the word redo. Lately, my husband and I have used that word after having a little tiff. One of us has looked at the other and said, “I wish we could rewind and have a redo.” It’s amazing what has happened when we look at each other and say, “Yes, let’s do just that.”

Isn’t that what Jesus does for us? I know I’m flawed and I mess up but He is so gracious when I ask him to forgive me, cleanse me, and empower me to do better next time. He doesn’t hold my sin against me and I’m to practice this kind of forgiving and allowing of redos to others in my life. It’s worth it.