May 11,  2004

Women Teaching Women

“…to love their husbands, to love their children…”  (Titus 2:3-4)

For the next few days, we will share testimonies from women who are participating in the Titus Two ministry.  This ministry gives women a chance to share together in a small group.

Titus Two Testimonies:  Penny Whitener

Over 25 years ago the idea of starting a program that would facilitate incorporating the concept of Titus Two into the body at Calvary was born.  At that time it was named “Helpmate.”  The idea was that young mothers could meet together for encouragement and fellowship and have the privilege of sitting at the feet of more mature women who were willing to share their lives and life experiences.  I was one of those young moms. 

Since that time, much has changed in my life and the life of Calvary Baptist Church.  I have raised four children, and I am now considered one of the more “mature” women.  What has not changed is the need for women to have an opportunity to get together and encourage and support each other and to hear from women who have been where they are, be given Biblical guidance, time, and friendship. 

This is not a class where subjects are taught and notes taken, but rather an opportunity to share life and develop relationships.  Hopefully, the most vital relationship that is encouraged is each woman’s relationship with Christ.

As I watched the women who shared their lives with me when I was younger, I caught far more than I was taught.  I saw in them qualities of a Godly wife and mother.  I heard them share their struggles and how they sought to honor God through sometimes difficult circumstances.  They allowed me the privilege of seeing them just be “real.”  In a world that constantly devalues the very values Titus Two instructs us to live out, it was wonderful to have role models who unashamedly stood up for being “keepers of the home,” loving wives and mothers.

I am acutely aware that I do not have all the answers to life.  Life is perhaps more complex today than it was when I was raising a family.  I do not have any illusions of having life all figured out.  I do, however, know the One who does. 

We want to be to others what those precious women were to me, lights along my pathway, laughing with me in times of joy, crying with me in times of distress and encouraging me to press on with Jesus in this wonderful journey called life.