Motherhood in 2019: A Titus 2 Perspective
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As a Christian mom, I rely fully on the Word of God to direct my steps as a mother. It is literally the toughest and most fulfilling job I have ever had. There are no breaks, no vacations, no time-outs, it is 24/7. And I love every second of it (even if I need a little “me time” just so that I can better serve my family).
My four littles have taught me how to be selfless, patient, kind, and to find strength in my weakness. I know that everything is ultimately out of my control. #Godisincontrol
To do it right, I personally love to go to God’s word where he gives explicit instructions on how to grow and mature in my role.
However, with the advancement in technology and the instant availability of information, my generation (yes I am a millennial) have been gifted an opportunity to access vast arrays of knowledge that was not available to our parents.
The internet.
It is a marvelous thing and I adore most of Google’s products. But gone are the days of checking out library books and scouring encyclopedias for facts.
If you are reading this can you recall reading an encyclopedia? I do!!!
It is a glorious memory. My grandmother ordered an entire set A-Z. She didn’t have a full bookshelf to house them all so she lined them up along the wall and across cabinets.
I would wander down to her house through a little pathway in the woods to research a new topic. Most of the time, it was about animals.
“Nanny, what kind of snake is this?”
“What kind of tree is this?”
“Why do the catfish eat everything in our pond?”
“How do you distinguish a poisonous snake from a non-venomous one?”
Have you started to sense that we lived in the woods? LOL
She would pull out the magnifying glass for her ailing eyes to scan over the tops of each page searching for the right topic word in alphabetical order. Together we would read about the marvels in our backyard and sometimes travel farther across the world learning about exotic birds and famous people. It was always an enjoyable time learning from my grandmother’s encyclopedias and HER.
She was my elder. An older woman that could share her life that consisted of a depression era upbringing, two marriages, four children, and long hours in a shirt factory.
She encouraged my faith by living an example of trust, kindness and unending mercy with humility and respect for others.
Titus 2:3-5 says
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
Teach the older women
As an older woman of God, she had learned a proper way to handle herself and pursue the Word of God. She embraced the duty to learn so that she could pass down that knowledge. My grandmother and mother did their best to transfer what they knew was the best instruction for us.
Teach what is good
During our childhood, my mother and grandmother pressed into Pro 22:6, therefore, creating a “Mary” mentality more than a “Martha”. Personally, as a young mother, I struggle with homemaking – staying on top of laundry, dishes, and the chaos of keeping an orderly home. Yet, my heart always chases after the PEACE in God through understanding because, though homemaking skills are important, they can be taught, but a heart reliant on God is groomed through Bible reading, fellowship and seeing faith in action. My grandmother ALWAYS had her Bible handy beside the big fluffy recliner and a church hymnal to sing praises to God. Hallelujah!
Urge the younger women
Not only did my grandmother encourage fervent Bible reading so did my GREAT-grandmother! What a sweet thing it is to pass down through multiple generations a passion for Bible reading. The word “urge” is means to try earnestly or persistently to persuade someone to do something. My grandmothers were creating a strong desire in my heart to pursue the Bible. It wasn’t a forceful judgemental instruction but one of loving tenderness that was felt through their kind words and gentle urging. I never felt shame for not reading or when I slipped up. Forgiveness and mercy was also a character trait passed down through their actions. I am grateful for their influence.
Instructions
The verse clearly outlines:
- love your husbands and children
- be self-controlled and pure
- be busy at home
- be kind
- be subject to your husbands
Now for my SO WHAT WHO CARES?
As a mom scouring the internet for information about biblical marriage and motherhood advice I would find entire articles for each of the five instructions above. For today, I am not going to elaborate on each of them. However, I will offer what I have found to be true in my marriage and motherhood journey thus far.
- Loving my family comes first even when things get rough.
- I attempt to pray before I speak out in anger, therefore, practicing self-control (through a whole lot of help from the Holy Spirit).
- As a married couple, we set up boundaries and restrictions to enforce purity.
- We made the decision that I would stay home to pour into the children during their foundational years. (I didn’t even start blogging until my oldest was seven years old.) The work wasn’t satisfying in the beginning though my heart and mind simply needed to mature. NOW, I can see the fruit of my labor in our children. (Wanna know more about the first years leave a comment below).
- And finally, YES, I am subject to my husband because he is the head of our household. He doesn’t govern or dictate me nor use me as a doormat, etc. My husband is a loving man of Christ who cherishes ME like Christ loves the church. He is self-sacrificing, caring, kind, and understanding. He provides for us spiritually and physically. He leads us through the valleys and rejoices with us on mountaintops. Is he perfect? No. Neither am I. We love Christ first then each other than our children. We understand the unity we have in Him and the covenant we made with one another. So, Yes, I am subject to him because HE is subject to us through Christ Jesus.
If you are a new mom or a hurting mom I would encourage you to turn to the best instruction manual, encyclopedia, and Google search available – the Word of God. It is a wonderful book full of stories that will encourage the weariest heart. And if you need prayer please do not hesitate to reach out.
Additional reading:
https://articles.titus2.com/titus-two-encouragement-for-young-mother-part-1/
A book list: http://titus2mentoringwomen.com/books/
Start a mentoring program: http://titus2mentoringwomen.com/
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this was beautiful. I had a similar relationship with my great grandmother and still have that relationship with my grandmother. so much Godly wisdom. wonderful wives and mothers that I can only strive to compare to. and I loved our encyclopedia set as a kid ?. I was that kid that would read it for fun. thanks for this wonderful post. keeping the wisdom of the elder women in my family close to my heart.
Thank you Sandra. So glad that it resonated with you and brought back fond memories. Encyclopedia sets were so cool!