My Titus 2 Woman

What should you look for in a godly female role model?

Look no further than Titus 2:3-5, "Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God."

My Titus 2 woman is Linda whom I met about a year and a half ago. Her husband Jim was our Bible Fellowship class leader. Before I met Linda, I never knew there could be godly women with larger than life personalities. Somewhere along my way of learning about good Christian women, this idea of a timid little mouse had infiltrated my ideals. And sadly I became kind of brainwashed to that concept all the while beginning to dislike myself. You see, if you're wacky and spunky like me, I began to think there was no place for this girl in the Kingdom. (Maybe I could be the court jester)? I can see clearly how Satan lies to us through these crazy myths that so easily entangle us; only self-sabotaging the life that God calls us to live in abundance.

Well, Linda blew that myth out of the water. Here was a woman who lit up a room much like firecrackers light up the sky. She was full of energy, robust, feisty, sincere, funny, and to sum her up completely, passionate. The more time we spent together, the more I realized that it was okay to be myself. I wrote her a letter one time thanking her for giving me permission so as to speak, to be me. Not only did she have a joie de vie, she knew Who she belonged to.

When you finally have an epiphany of the heart that yes, God does love you for who you are, at your best, at your worst, and no, nothing will ever change that, you are suddenly free. Free to be who He created you to be. The girl who loves clothes, and the girl who could care less. The geek. The prep. The tomboy. The artist. The techie. The tree-hugger. The drama queen. We will all be represented in Heaven one day. And that is a very beautiful thing.

Linda, despite her dominant personality, can easily display her gentle submissiveness to her husband. You can tell when she looks at him that she honestly admires him. He leads, she follows. She always praises him to others and finds delight while doing so.

She's been a great model to show the complementary nature of marriage; headship and submission, masculinity and femininity, love and respect, give and take. I intentionally used and instead of versus because these areas should not compete with one another. They are both equally valued and therefore equally necessary to provide balance.

God knew what He was doing when He created the gift of relationship. The idea of older and younger women coming together to share life, wisdom, laughs, and so much more is brilliant. Every woman needs a friend who's a safety net that will gently catch her and help her back up on her feet when she falls. If you don't have a Titus 2 woman in your life, I encourage you to take the risk and initiative in asking someone who's caught your eye. And consider this, if you're already older, there may be a younger woman who's looking at you! I hope that I won't forget the cycle of the Titus 2 woman; that it's not always being the younger woman who's taught, but also the older woman who passes down wisdom.