Many times when going through a difficult or stressful or confusing or grievous time, particularly as a young wife and mother, but even now with all my children grown and my husband gone, I have longed for an older woman from whom I could receive counsel—someone I could go to for wisdom, perspective, direction, comfort. I can remember during those times often thinking, When I get older, I want to be that for younger women.
Time, that relentless, unceasing stream, has swept me along in its current; I look in the mirror and guess what? I am now an "older woman." I protest: But I still have so much to learn! There are so many things I didn't do right, so many things I wish I could go back and do over, so many . . . And I begin to realize that perhaps this is why God instructed older women to teach younger women—not because they did everything perfectly and got it all right, but because they've seen and lived the mistakes, they've grown and gained insight through the ebb and flow of life, through the difficulties and uncertainties. Maybe life isn't about "getting it right" as much as coming to terms with our humanness, our limitations, our smallness and inability apart from Christ. Life is about learning to trust, to rest, to focus on the God who knows our need and meets us there, the One who said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing."
So it's time to accept the Titus 2 reality and say, "Yes, Lord." As I read again the list of things older women are to teach younger women, I realize these are exactly the things I struggled with and needed help with:
How to be a better wife, so my husband felt loved
How to be a better mom, so my children felt loved
How to know when to be silent and when to speak up; how to always live with the future and its consequences in view
How to be pure and holy
How to keep up with my home and make it a pleasant, peaceable place
How to be truly good and do the good works God has planned for me
How to demonstrate godly submission and obedience to my own husband
Observing the struggles of younger women, I "feel their pain." I know I don't have all the answers and I can't remove the struggles and adversities, but perhaps I can come alongside in the journey, offer encouragement, prayer, hope, and a few tidbits of advice gleaned from the stretch marks of my own life as we tube down this river of life together.
With this blog I have a three-pronged desire. The first is to encourage people to get into the Word of God, to read and study and memorize and meditate on the treasure we've been given. The second is to write some of the thoughts I've had about those seven areas of a woman's life outlined in Titus 2:4-5 as I mull over what the Lord has taught me over the years. And third, I hope to simply chronicle my own journey, the right-now flow of life that might also include the musings of looking back.
What are the areas of life in which you most wish you had counsel or encouragement? Any feedback is always appreciated!