What Have You Learned on Your Spiritual Journey Thus Far?

A Titus 2 Command, Part 2.

        

ETA: I need to be up front and honest about this—I got this mentorship program all wrong. It is such a blessing when the Lord meets you in your mistakes and literally redirects you to a better way. Because I am a product of the previous generation, this is the structured kind of program I was mentored by. It worked for me, but according to a timely book I just happened to have stumbled upon at the thrift store, this model has done more hurt than help to the Millennial women coming behind me. The book is, “Organic Mentoring” by Sue Edwards and Barbara Neumann, and I highly recommend it if you can get a hold of a copy.

The highlights of this well-researched book boils down to about five truths.

1. Millennial and Gen Z young women have online Bible truths at their fingertips that they can access at any time. What they don’t have is real, authentic relationships with older women who care enough to bridge the generational divide.
2. Pairing two people who may have commonalities but do not “click” can make things more awkward and even cause hurt because it doesn’t work.
3. The next generation wants to observe and then pick their own mentors, but not in a structured, get together kind of way. Texting or an impromptu conversation over coffee is more to their liking.
4. The younger generation is more story oriented. How does Biblical truth fit into real life with practical application? Once again, Biblical answers can be found with a few words typed into an internet search engine. Someone’s story, along with their failures, impacts much deeper than a Bible verse for every problem.
5. The best way to promote cross generational mentorship is to give women the opportunity to do life together with freedom to have one-on-one discussions. Once that happens, a more organic friendship can take root as women just invite each other to coffee for questions and testimonies.

While the information in the post below is still relevant, I will no longer encourage women to use my model of Titus 2 mentorship included in the download below.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to comment below!

Now on to the original post:

    I love the answers some of my readers gave to the question, What have you learned on your spiritual journey thus far? Here are the responses I received:

• Life has never been about me.
• I am learning to put my trust in God fully.
• I am letting God control my mind (thoughts)-which is always a work in progress.
• Love never fails.

I am so thankful for these short answers and would love the opportunity to sit down to hear the long versions of these lessons learned at the feet of Jesus. Hearing the stories of those who have walked a path before me gives me hope and help when my turn arrives.

As I considered how to answer this question myself, the Lord brought me back to a lesson that I have needed several times over. It is the realization that Christians are meant to live in community. The circumstances of life change constantly. New seasons await just over the next hill. Because there is nothing new under the sun, someone, somewhere has walked through the circumstance that I will enter next. Someone else has learned lessons I need to learn too.

On one of my social media posts, I mentioned Proverbs 27:17.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Studying this verse opened my eyes to the discomfort sharpening brings with it. Sharpening iron requires a strong friction that carves off what is unnecessary and hones the edge to perfection. That honing might be painful in the moment, but it leads to a much easier path forward. This is the kind of relationship Paul is describing in Titus 2. The older women were helping the younger smooth out those things that were not serving them and their families. The older women could pass on lessons that might save the younger women tears of regret, or they could bolster their courage for a difficult upcoming season.

My favorite quote from my Strong’s Concordance word study was “Engage in accountable relationships where open exhortation is normal. The edge of character dulls in isolation.” Perhaps because my family has moved so many times, I find it easy to forge my way without a close community. Fear of judgment makes me hesitant to let people into my world.  After all, my family is not perfect, and neither am I! (Ha!) However, there is little hope of sharpening outside of friendship. It is much too easy to convince myself that my character is doing just fine when there is no one to point out that it is not.

In addition, the lessons I have learned are needed by someone else. I rob them of the hope and help they need when I do not engage in community as the Lord instructs. Which brings me to the idea that I want to share today. A program that matches older women with younger in a non-secret, secret sister kind of way might be a good fit in some churches. Our church will try it this fall, and I would like to share the packet for download here. Several pastor’s wives read through it for me and sounded hopeful that it would work.

The spiritual mothers matched to the younger can be volunteers, or they could be selected by the pastor and his wife. There could also be an initial meeting of the spiritual mothers for thorough instruction on what is expected. A person could have a mentor and mentor at the same time, as well. The idea is not to gather everyone in a formal gathering, but to have the older women meet with the younger in a home setting, perhaps in a practically helpful way, or just have a conversation over a cup of tea. The hope is that an intentional friendship can be forged, even if it is only for a particular season. Let me know if you have any comments, thoughts or questions. I pray that it is helpful.

Have a blessed weekend!