There is a passage in Titus 2 that you’ve probably heard before:
“Older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands.” Titus 2:4-5
I used to read this verse and imagine a footnote referring to a “gray-hair clause” at the bottom of the page. The verse sunk in as “old women must train the young women” instead of “older women must train the younger women.” I thought you had to be a seasoned grandmother before you could pass your wisdom on to the next generation.
My cousins taught me otherwise.
Several years ago, when I was in my early 20’s and my cousins were about 8 and 11, we took a short road trip. We were discussing an upcoming family wedding, and somehow, in the course of about twenty seconds, I found myself smack dab in the middle of one of the most honest, sensitive, and unexpected conversations I’d ever been a part of… all about sex.
The girls asked me about everything that day: dating, kissing, boys, marriage, waiting, purity, and every other spin on the birds and the bees that they could think of. Realizing the seriousness of the moment, I pulled into Sonic and ordered ice cream for all of us. Right then and there, with our vanilla cones in hand, I made a purity pact with them. It wasn’t an “I’ll wait for marriage if you do” pact; it was an “I’ll promise to wait, and if you want me to continue to drive you home and not leave you on the side of this highway, you’ll promise me the same thing!” 🙂
We laughed together, finished our ice cream, and continued our drive and our talk. It was one of my most favorite days ever with those girls.
I learned something about the Titus 2 challenge that day: you don’t have to be old in order to be older.
So can you be a Titus 2 woman too? Of course you can! All you have to do is listen. When a younger girl has questions about life, she probably won’t submit an official request for you to be her mentor. She’ll probably feel you out with tidbits of conversation. How you listen and respond will determine if she keeps asking.
Then, once a relationship and an honest conversation emerges, pray that God will use you in what you say and do.
You don’t have to have gray hair to make an impact on a younger girl’s life. You could be 13 years old and babysit a 6-year-old who thinks everything you do is gold. Or you could be 16 with a 12-year-old little sister. Or you could be 40 with kids in junior high with a 23-year old neighbor who just got married.
The opportunities to make a difference in a younger girl’s life are endless! Don’t wait for your AARP card to start!
I see through this study that a lot of women thought the Proverbs 31 woman incorporated all of the atributes listed in each day of her life. I was taught by my grandmother that this was a lifestyle that God wanted women to grow to. It demonstrated perfection but no one is perfect every day or even hour to hour but it gives us a picture of what to strive for. Today, I strive for the cleaniest. I believe God wants us to clean house whenever we can to allow him to do the great work in our lives. Right now he has directed me in several directions to share with women and youth.
I recently accepted an invitation to share with mothers and teens this wonderful study because I invited other women to join me online. I am gracious to you ladies for providing this vehicle. Each time I begin this study I learn something else that I can share. I encourage the women I meet to use this study because it is wonderful.