Passing the Baton

By Nanette Schmitt

“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).

Throughout most of my teen years, a single woman in her 20s at my church took time to mentor me. Every other week she came to my house to have a Bible study with me. We talked about all kinds of things, and I came to greatly admire and love her as a sister in Christ.

Eventually, she married and moved away. By that time, I was in my late teens and suddenly discovered there were young teenage girls growing up behind me who needed the same mentoring I had received. It was time for me to take the baton and pass it on, and I felt well prepared. Following the example that had been set for me was easy because my mentor had spent so much of her time with me.

As I entered adulthood, then married life, and most recently parenthood, I have often sought out godly women who have gone before me through these different stages. Yet, there is a somewhat disturbing phenomenon in my generation and those following. We have been taught self-reliance and the “just do it” philosophy so well we no longer look to those who have gone before us, to those who have experience where we have none. And we have alienated our older people to such a degree they no longer feel they have anything to offer or say to us. Conversely, I have heard the older people say, in essence, they have fulfilled their duties and now it is their turn to sit back and relax.

Recognize Similarities

Do you realize, dear businesswoman of the new millennium, your elderly neighbor once struggled to manage a job, a husband, and a house full of children just as you do now? What was her secret of success?

Or do you realize, unsatisfied housewife and mother, that the older woman in the pew before you once dreamed of staying home with her children? Could she share with you her struggles of having to work?

Or do you realize, beloved grandmother, the newlywed in your Bible class is struggling through the same disillusionment of marriage you once experienced? What words of encouragement could you offer her?

The Bible clearly instructs older women to train younger women, and what comfort it could bring to many. But are you willing to talk and tell your stories, you older women? And, are you willing to stop and listen, you younger women? Too often what we hear from the other generation are arguments that seem to widen the gap between us. Recognizing the differences between us, we overlook the fundamental similarities: the struggles that humankind inevitably faces in every generation.

What would happen if we stopped to recognize our similarities? Instead of trying to rid the older generation of its past, could we use their past to learn and grow? This generation has a higher incidence of suicide, divorce, homosexuality, and drug abuse than any that preceded it. Is it possible that in throwing aside the advice of those older than us, we have lost something greater than ourselves?

Dear young woman, seek out the older godly women. Ask them stories of their lives and then listen and apply them to your own life.

Dear older woman, do not overlook the younger women as self-sufficient and uninterested in you. What piece of advice do you wish an older woman had shared with you? Pass it along. Your life experience is an invaluable tool for those coming behind you.

Thank you, godly women who have gone before me. Thank you for your love and encouragement. Thank you for the example you have set for me to emulate. Thank you for your willingness to share your stories with me.

 


 


 


 

 







Nanette Schmitt serves as worship leader and women”s ministry director for Central Christian Church in McAlester, Oklahoma.