A few months ago, my sweet friend trusted me enough to introduce me to her Aunt Bonnie. If I had to guess, Aunt Bonnie is probably in her 80s, but mentally in her 30s. I was enamored with her from the moment I met her and to her extended family’s amusement, I was also calling her Aunt Bonnie immediately.
She showed me her craft room, encouraged me in learning quilting, asked about my childhood, and invited me to come spend the summer with her in Texas so we could gab and craft together. This woman was lovely and I so honored to have met her for a brief afternoon.
My friend trusted me with her family treasure. You see, I could have been stand-offish, impatient, rude, or unengaged. When we introduce our friends to our family, we have a small idea of how they will interact, but there is no guarantee that they will hold the same esteem for our older family members that we may.
In my case, I jumped at the chance to learn from this lovely gal who clearly was more well versed in quilting than I was. Not only was it selfish on my part to learn from her, I would also consider it Biblical.
Titus 2:3-5 (NASB) states, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, no malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
Our conversation was not about religion, as we chatted about quilting techniques. But here was a more mature woman, mentoring a middle-aged woman…and in that wonderful conversation, I had an example from her about loving my husband and child, about being sensible and pure, about working at home and being kind. She was the Titus 2 older woman to me.
As Christian women, we need to either be seeking a more mature woman to sit under…or we need to be the more mature woman willing to allow others to sit with us.
While the Titus 2 description is specifically geared towards life as a Christian woman, remember that these mentoring sessions could also be opportunities to share the Gospel. In both directions! Be open to being a mentor. And be open to finding one for yourself too!
Come to the porch this week and tell us about your mentors!
~Emily
Iron Porch 