Feb
2
2016
Titus 2 Morning
Posted in Discipleship 2 Comments
I thought of the movie, The Lion King all morning.
I thought about the soundtrack when my children sang along.
Hakuna Matata: It means no worries for the rest of your days.
The Circle of Life played as the new lion cub was lifted up for the whole clan to see.
It was the story of Mufasa and his evil brother, Scar.
It was the story of Simba who must learn to cope with the death of his father.
The death of his father shook little Simba to the very core.
The changes in his circumstances made him forget who he was and what he was called to be.
It was the Elton John and Tim Rice song, Circle of Life that I kept singing in my head.
It’s the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life
I witnessed the circle of life in my kitchen when a young woman came to visit.
She spent much time in our house.
She is the dear friend of my daughter.
In fact, my daughter was her maid of honor five years ago when she got married.
The girls shared high school, youth group, and a small group Bible study.
They still share a love of movies and can quote a few favorite movies word for word.
This sweet young woman’s bridal shower was in our home.
The girl I knew so well for so many years has blossomed into a lovely young woman.
My daughter and her friend have a love of music.
They go to concerts together whenever their favorite artists come to town.
They share their hearts in long conversations.
Their hearts are safe with each other; it has always been that way.
My daughter’s friend and her husband had a beautiful baby girl six months ago.
My morning was delightful as I sat and talked to this precious young woman.
My morning was even more delightful when I got to hold her sweet little baby girl.
The little girl who grew up in our house is now a mother with a little baby girl of her own.
The circle of life is continuing as it should be.
It is obvious that her little daughter is well loved and lavished with affection.
As soon as I got down and talked to this precious little baby, she smiled and “talked” to me.
She reaches out her hands towards her mom and squeals with delight whenever she is near.
My daughter’s friend, the little girl now woman, is a mother herself.
There is such a sweet love affair between a mother and her child.
This sweet little baby girl exudes such joy whenever her mother is near.
I watched the joy begin at her little feet and work its way up to her smile.
I watched the joy take over this little baby girl.
The joy because her mother is near by.
The joy because she hears her mother’s voice.
The joy because she had her mother’s attention.
This young woman and I had such a wonderful morning talking over a cup of tea.
As I listened to her heart, I saw myself over thirty years ago.
I saw myself with young babies as I tried to figure out what it means to be a mother.
I sat there listening and wishing I had the kind of relationship we share when I was her age.
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. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 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. (Titus 2:3-5)
I had a Titus 2 morning at my kitchen table.
Hospitality happened over a cup of tea and a still-warm piece of breakfast bread.
Conversation was shared.
I have been where she is now and that makes all the difference.
Older women need to teach the younger women.
By no means do we older women do things perfectly.
However, we have the wisdom of experience.
Especially, if we are in Christ, we must consistently point them to the Lord.
I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages. (Charles Spurgeon)
That is what a young mother must learn to do.
She cannot do this job alone.
She cannot even be a good wife in her own strength.
The world will chime in and bad mouth marriage and motherhood.
Each is a noble calling.
Each requires dying to self for the good of another.
Each is a mirror to your own heart.
We see our sin very clearly in marriage and in parenting.
Our own inadequacies are somehow magnified as we are mirrored in the eyes of another.
That is why we so desperately need the Lord.
We are imperfect, sinful people who very often want our own way.
Yet marriage and parenting requires us to lay down self and pick up one-anothering.
Marriage and parenting shows us who we really are.
Sometimes that is surprisingly refreshing.
Sometimes that is uncomfortably revealing.
I appreciated God’s word in a new way as I sat with this young woman.
God designed it so that we need each other.
God designed it so that the husband needs his wife’s respect as much as she needs his love.
God designed us to compliment each other in order to grow in Him and with each other.
It was a privilege to have a Titus 2 morning in my kitchen.
It was a delight to see the circle of life continue so sweetly.
The race is being run.
The baton is passed; the transfer is going well.
I held her little baby girl up and sang the Circle of Life in my head.
One day, her little daughter will be the young mother to a new generation.
One day, this sweet young woman will be the mentor to a young mom and her child.
The circle of life continues, centered on God and His infallible Word.
Older women teach the younger women.
Be available to them to listen and to point them to the Lord.
Make a cup of tea and invite a young mother over to your home.
The morning out will be a balm to her spirit; the grace you extend will feed her soul.
It does not have to be fancy.
In fact, the simpler the better.
Be there; be all there.
You have much to offer; in God’s hands it will be a feast to them.
What a sweet story! Hopefully the young can learn from the older. I’m trying to help some of my family who need to draw closer to the Lord. They listen respectfully but I don’t see changes. What can I do? I keep praying; it is in the Lord’s hands.
You are right, Sue. It is in God’s hands. We pray and we live out our faith before others. The joy and the peace we have because of the Lord Jesus will captivate an unbelieving world.
Gina