Growing Up with Judy Blume
Judy Blume is having a renaissance moment with the release of the documentary Judy Blume Forever, and the movie adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. (I highly recommend watching both, especially if you’re a Judy Blume fan.)
Like many women now in their 40s and 50s, Judy Blume accompanied me through adolescence. She was another kind of mother. She talked to me—through her books—about periods, sex, birth control, and relationships. She told me things that my own mother couldn’t. Things they didn’t teach us in school. Things that “good” girls didn’t talk about with anyone—at least that’s what I was led to believe.
Rereading Judy Blume in My 50s
But then I reread my yellowed copy of Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. The one I’ve had for more than 40 years.
Yes, I remembered Margaret and her friends chanting “we must—we must—we must increase our bust,” and talking about boys and “menstroo-ation.” But I had forgotten that Margaret’s mother was Christian and her father was Jewish. I had forgotten about her sixth-grade “year-long experiment in religion” and her search for God: at the synagogue with her grandmother, at church with her friends Janie and Nancy. And in her talks with God—like this one, after a church visit:
Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. I just came home from church. I loved the choir—the songs were so beautiful. Still, I didn’t really feel you God. I’m more confused than ever. I’m trying hard to understand but I wish you’d help me a little. If only you could give me a hint God. Which religion should I be? Sometimes I wish I’d been born one way or the other.
Margaret is a spiritual seeker.
Becoming a Spiritual Seeker
Unlike Margaret, I grew up in the church. I attended Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, memorized the books of the Bible, went through First Communion and Confirmation.
I was told what to believe.
In my early twenties, I became a spiritual seeker, like Margaret. I had questions that “the church” couldn’t answer. The God of my youth became unrecognizable, unrelatable. I needed new language. I needed new images.
In my thirties, I found a faith community where I could ask my questions and explore my spirituality in a broader context.
And, I discovered spiritual direction.
I wonder about grown-up Margaret. If she ever chose a religion. And even if she did, I wonder what sort of questions she still had about God. About life. About making meaning.
I imagine sitting across from Margaret in a spiritual direction session. Offering her a nonjudgmental, listening presence. A place where she could explore her questions, and perhaps find answers of her own, bringing forth the wisdom that lies within her.
Interested in learning more about spiritual direction? Click HERE.
What is a favorite book you’ve rediscovered from your adolescence? Did the book offer new insights reading it as an adult?
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