Hebrew:
“Cognate: 2676 katártisis (a feminine noun) – properly, a particular brand (type) of adjustment – overcoming “mental dislocations” brought on by arrogance (refusal to repent). It is used only in 2 Cor 13:9.”   “We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored (Katartisis). “ (NIV)

English: “Definition of catharsis”
plural catharsesplay\-ˌsēz\

• 1:  purgation  : the act or result of purging
  • • a :  to clear of guilt
      b :  to free from moral or ceremonial defilement
      • a :  to cause evacuation from (as in, the bowels)
        b (1) :  to make free of something unwanted <purge a manhole of gas> <purge yourself of fear> (2) :  to free (as a boiler) of sediment or relieve (as a steam pipe) of trapped air by bleeding
        c (1) :  to rid (as a nation or party) by a purge (2) :  to get rid of <the leaders had been purged> 

2a :  Purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
b :  a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension

• 3:  Elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression”

Whoa. Mind Blown. Sufficiently. I may actually have to come back and write this blog post later. After steeping in that for a little bit.

***

What was the first thing that caught your attention in those definitions?

For me, it was at very first the word “feminine” and THEN “mental dislocations,” and THEN “refusal to repent.”

Whoa. And ouch!

This brought a memory to the front of my mind. I am a graduate with a degree in psychology.  So I feel like I can say, the history of the female psyche has been studied and laughed at quite a bit since the original Greek physicians attempted to explain the “hysteria” of women.  See: The Fantastically Wrong Wandering Womb

Ha ha! The “Wandering Womb” was to blame for our craziness. Not hormones, or stress, or gender roles that seem to always weigh heavily on the women of the unbelieving masses.

But our uteruses. Traveling. Like on vacation. Or ’stay-cation’ I guess? L.O.L. 

I mean, sometimes I wish my uterus would go somewhere else. But, c’mon?!?

Okay—back to the main point— we have always had our “moments” call them what you will:  PMS (Princess May Snap), (I prefer PMC: Princess may Cut-you), Hot flashes, Personal Summers, Menopause, Pre-menopause, a bad day, or self-centered moments.  Our men want to blame it on something physical (because they can’t fault us for our genetic makeup) and women do too, because then we can blame our weakest moments on “the curse” and just move on.  But really—every woman’s cycle, and daily struggle is different, and it takes a whole lot of nature AND nurture issues to make up the complex ingredients that cause us to react in any-given-moment in any-given-way.

So—let’s try NOT to blame everything on genetics, and sin entering the world. And let us try, at least for a moment, to take responsibility for the words that come out of our mouths.

Truth is, we all have the back ache, migraine, nausea, foot cramps, calf cramps, sinus, over-heated, cold, fever-y moments and we all have to manage in a real world setting, daily. No matter how we feel. There are not enough “Personal Days” available for us to take a “Personal Day” each time we need one. So, we need to learn how to take a personal sabbath (see blog post from 2/4/17) and we need CATHARSIS. 

We must “clear of guilt” instead of fill with excuses. We must choose to be free from moral defilement. (Pretty strong words there.)

We need to “purge” or ‘make free of something unwanted’ or relieve (as a steam pipe) in order to remove the attitudes of disgrace, and repent of such thoughts/feelings/moods and well, disgraces.  This is where true friends come in. They won’t repeat you!!! And sometimes, that is all we need. A listening ear, and a closed lipped lady to laugh, and to correct us gently when need be.  Friends can be, AND should be, cathartic. If they are not—why are you allowing them to carry the venerated title of ‘Friend’?

In the Hebrew definition, catharsis is a female noun: an adjustment. (Like an attitude adjustment. We suggest those to our kiddos ALL the time…;)

It is an overcoming of “mental dislocations”—which I think is so very PC!!! It’s not a disorder. Nothing is broken only a little bit OUT of place…our uteruses are doing their job—it’s just a painful job sometimes, but hey, so is life!! We have got to stop blaming our disgraces on our physicalities.  We need to simply re-locate our mental state.  I love that this solution is so simple and the Hebrew definition explains what we need to do.

It defines a “Mental dislocation” as “ARROGANCE” and ultimately a REFUSAL to REPENT.  Wow.

So… let’s REPENT! All that means is TURN around, make a 180 deg. rotation and begin walking in the OTHER direction.  Don’t BLAME your uterus and keep plodding on through the danger zone. Causing more trouble for yourself and others later.  Just re-locate your mentality, turn around, and head back towards GRACE! The ONLY verse in the bible that uses this word is II Cor. 13:9— which translates into English as “Fully restored”. Wow.
I want that. This life is rough. I’m not gonna lie. I want FULL restoration to be a part of my journey!!

And it suggests all we have to do is take advantage of something that is innately feminine. Catharsis. (It’s ours. We can use it in our lives, and I bet we can help facilitate it in others’ too!)

So—you screwed up.  Fine.  We all do.  GET.OVER.IT.  Don’t be like the Israelite people who God was ever SO faithful to lead out of Egypt, only for them to wander around the desert for 40 years complaining about the route…when they are the ones who REFUSED to follow God’s directions.  He, of course, still looked out for them within their disobedience, but they missed out on the GRACE he had available to them, because they had “Mental dislocations” and let it physically and geographically dislocate them as well!

Don’t blame your uterus for your mental/physical dislocation— that is so.old.school.

Just TURN around and get back on the path towards GRACE.  God has a destination for you, he planned it out before you were even a twinkle in anyone’s eye.

How DARE you disrupt such a glorious and fantastic plan!?!?

It’s time for a cathartic moment.  So, let’s do this!