Growing up on a dairy farm saw the whole picture of how good care during pregnancy led to better births and good lactation. I could also tell you about mastitis and the care needed to help prevent it. I saw the knowledge my dad, the hired man and the vet had and needed to provide such care for the dairy herd.

And yet, when I got my own period at 10, I didn’t think about these terms in relation to myself as a girl. 

Today (July 11) I turn 38. I’ve been blessed with two girls and a boy and unfortunately none of them came with a manual. Parenting books have been my friend as my husband and I navigate the differences of raising girls and boys. As I research how to teach them to love who God created them to be, I have a growing concern that Sioux County residents actually have a more wholesome view on how we raise our livestock compared to how generations of children have been raised.

Take my experience this spring, for example.

I was blessed with the opportunity to chat with sophomores – some boys but mostly girls – from nearly all Sioux County high schools (public and private) during the Your Future @ Work event. Many took up my challenge to win a prize by spinning the Guiding Star Siouxland trivia wheel and answering questions such as: “How did you learn about menstruation?”

I was often met with raised eyebrows, blank stares, and even a couple giggles and embarrassed looks. And their answers surprised me.

“My mom gave me a book to read about puberty.”

“I don’t remember really talking about it. My sister gave me some pads.”

“A class at my school.”

“My mom told me I would bleed sometime and showed me where the stuff was I would need for that time of the month.”

What stuck out to me the most was the lack of excitement and knowledge along with the hushed tone of voice through which all these things were said. Too often, even right here in Sioux County, we hear menstruation talked about in euphemisms like it’s her “time of the month,” she’s got her “monthly visitor,” or it’s her “lady time.” It wasn’t just because I personally hung around men on the farm most of the summer. Female family members, ladies in church, and women in the grocery store could be heard saying such things.

It’s one way in which culture’s longstanding view of menstruation as something polluted, shameful, impure, and sometimes dangerous has seeped into how we are raising generations of women across the nation and locally.

The response from two sophomore girls bucked that trend.

“We menstruate because we ovulate.”

How did they know that?

“We took a class with our moms at Guiding Star and learned a lot about how our bodies are designed.”

One of those girls went on to say while she doesn’t always like menstruating each month, knowing why her body functions that way helps her take care of herself better as she knows how estrogen and progesterone can affect her throughout the month. She also wanted to protect herself until marriage because she valued the gift God had given her through her fertility. She was a confident 15-year-old girl!

What would a world — what would Sioux County – be like with more girls (both in town and on the farm) growing up with such confidence about who they are? I want that for my two daughters. 

I grew up in loving home, attended faith-based school and church my whole life and I could autofill the response that I was designed by a Creator, but I didn’t truly understand that design. I didn’t truly understand that unlike cattle (or hogs or insert another animal), my superpowers of ovulation, menstruation, gestation and lactation were created to reflect God.

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them,”(Gen. 1:27). So it’s that time of the month – a time during which my body is reflecting the good design God created from me as a female, which gives me higher respect for who I am.

This spring my oldest daughter turned 9. I wanted her and I to have a better understanding of the changes ahead that God has in store for her and help empower her to understand and love her amazing body. I knew right were to go for that help – Guiding Star Siouxland.

Moms, if this resonates with you, join us for our Intro to Womanhood workshop later this month or November, which is  a fun and educational experience for girls ages 9-13 (and their moms!) to learn about their period, fertility, and how to embrace their natural beauty. Let’s push against culture to help our daughters step into womanhood with confidence and joy!

📅 7-8:30 p.m. Monday, July 21 (Or Monday, Nov. 24)

📍 Guiding Star Siouxland, 111 Arizona Ave NW

👩‍👧 Reserve your spot today! https://forms.gle/D1wHgfJFXn8Z1KN4A

Guiding Star Siouxland opened its doors in 2016 to fill a need it saw in the N’West Iowa area for women to have a closer-to-home option for unplanned pregnancy support and education. Today we continue to empower and support women to understand, embrace, and love their natural bodies, through comprehensive and passionate life-affirming healthcare and education. Each family, church, business, or individual support matters to continue this mission of Building a Culture of  Life. Would you consider donating today?