I have this friend who has something I want so badly but will never have. She has a lot of women in her life.
My friend has a sister. She has some aunts. She still has her mom. And she even has her grandmother. Not to mention the women on her husband’s side of the family, too.
What makes them even more of a blessing is that they all live fairly close to her, they’re all healthy, and they all spend a lot of time with her and her children.
Last month I wrote on my experience with the destructive cycle of comparing. I believe this is an area all women (and men, to a degree) struggle with. When I was writing the post, I realized I was trying to justify my comparing by calling it, “looking up to people.” But there is a distinct difference between looking up to people and comparing myself to others.
The one piece of advice I give all single women is to find a mentor. Then, be teachable and listen to her. I say this for several reasons.
Singleness by nature is isolating. You spend a lot of time alone, especially if you live alone. However, God did not intend for us to live in isolation whether we are single or married. We are created for community.
For most of my life I have felt like I have no one. Sure, I have people around me. Both of my parents stayed married, and I have friends. However, even though God has blessed me abundantly in many ways, giving me mature, godly, older women who can disciple and mentor me has not been one of them.
I would be lying to you if I told you this doesn’t make me sad and leave me bitter. It does. However, I’ve learned the solution for when you feel you have no one. I’m sharing it today for Single Saturdays at Woman to Woman Ministries. Please join me there and find out what you can do, too, when you have no one.
There is no doubt in my mind that God has called me to mentor young women, especially young, single women. However, even though I know I am called, rarely do I feel qualified.
You see, I am no longer single. Now I am a married woman of six years, in my late 30’s, and I have a toddler girl. So I ask myself: Am I still qualified to speak into these women’s lives? Can I relate to them anymore? Am I relevant enough? Or “cool” enough – whatever that means?
Recently I had the privilege to share my answers to these questions in a devotional at EncouragementCafe.com. Join me there, and learn how yes, I am made to be a mentor, and regardless of where you are in your life, you are too!
Have you ever thought about mentoring a younger woman? What holds you back?
When I read the words of Titus 2 my heart stings a little.
“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 urge 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
It stings because I remember reading these words as a single woman and wanting so desperately to be included – so desperately to have the benefit of an older woman who could urge me on, encourage me, and train me.
Today I am honored to be a guest writer at Teresa’s Thought for Today. Teresa writes about faith, family, and food.
Will you join me there as we continue to discuss Titus 2 women and the single woman?
Have you heard? My new eBook Fall for Him: 25 Challenges from a Recovering Single is now available on Amazon, Nook, and in PDF formats! With the holidays coming up this would be a great gift for either yourself or the single woman in your life – maybe a friend, sister, cousin, or niece. It’s only $4.99. Give a gift of encouragement to a single woman today!
