Blog Articles
Reading the Bible as a Woman (or “When God Hands You a Bloody Tampon Sandwich”)
I have a story that burns to be told. But I’m afraid to tell it. I have started and stopped writing it numerous times over the last year. It is an incredibly precious story to me, so I’m afraid to expose it to criticism and misunderstanding from others. But more than that, I’m afraid of what this story asks of me. Not that not telling it gets me off the hook. But this is how my brain works.
Anyway, it’s time. I need to tell the story, but I have some context for it. I’m working on a new project that I hope to launch/announce next month. For today, I have a post up at A Deeper Story that lays some ground work. Here’s a preview.
The new Netflix show Orange Is the New Black tells the story of Piper Chapman, a woman in her thirties who is sentenced to 15 months in prison after she is convicted of a decade old crime of transporting money for her drug dealing girlfriend. In the second episode, Chapman accidentally insults the prison chef, Red. Despite her real-world-sufficient efforts to apologize, the next day she unwraps food prepared “special for you by Red” to find a sandwich made of bloody tampons.
When I read the Bible, I occasionally feel like Piper in that scene. One page fills me with inspiration and motivation to go forth and use my gifts to do God’s work. A page turn, and God hands me a bloody tampon sandwich. HAHAHAH sucka!