As I mentioned, my wife and I attended a wedding this weekend. It was a family affair, a nice traditional wedding. The bride looked lovely and the men wore tuxedos and the pastor read through 1 Corinthians 13 (the most misused text on earth, but that is for another day). Everyone sat around for pictures and then we went to a very nice reception.
And I wondered, as I always do at weddings.
Looking at the bride, in her wedding dress and her big smile, I wondered how much she really knows about what will follow the event, about the years to come. Has any older woman in the church spoken to her about how to love her husband? Did any pastor sit her down for "counseling," as we now call it? Does she know about wisdom and patience and kindness and gentleness and strength? I wonder about the husband as well, but this is a women's website.
Think back to your wedding. What did you know of your future? Did you have any idea about what it would mean to be a wife? Or did you just go in with whatever you picked up from watching your parents?
The reason older women are to teach younger women is really very simple -- because they know more. They may not be more knowledgeable about theology, but they almost certainly know more about marriage. They may not be able to break down a section of the scriptures hermeneutically, but they have experienced so many things that a young wife needs to know.
Where are they supposed to learn these things? Not in our Sunday Schools, which tend toward Bible studies, or in our Ladies Ministries (which are too often led by young women), or our Youth Ministries (where women and men learn "together" because it is more fun together and there is just one minister).
A lovely wedding. A lovely couple. Nice families on both sides. But I wondered. What did she know? What will she learn? Does she know what she is getting into? Throwing the bouquet is fun, but then the work begins.
And I wondered, as I always do at weddings.
Looking at the bride, in her wedding dress and her big smile, I wondered how much she really knows about what will follow the event, about the years to come. Has any older woman in the church spoken to her about how to love her husband? Did any pastor sit her down for "counseling," as we now call it? Does she know about wisdom and patience and kindness and gentleness and strength? I wonder about the husband as well, but this is a women's website.
Think back to your wedding. What did you know of your future? Did you have any idea about what it would mean to be a wife? Or did you just go in with whatever you picked up from watching your parents?
The reason older women are to teach younger women is really very simple -- because they know more. They may not be more knowledgeable about theology, but they almost certainly know more about marriage. They may not be able to break down a section of the scriptures hermeneutically, but they have experienced so many things that a young wife needs to know.
Where are they supposed to learn these things? Not in our Sunday Schools, which tend toward Bible studies, or in our Ladies Ministries (which are too often led by young women), or our Youth Ministries (where women and men learn "together" because it is more fun together and there is just one minister).
A lovely wedding. A lovely couple. Nice families on both sides. But I wondered. What did she know? What will she learn? Does she know what she is getting into? Throwing the bouquet is fun, but then the work begins.
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