It's midnight in Texas and I have been reflecting on the book of Titus. I thought we should all just jump right in. This is what I do; I write when I'm overcome with emotion, Spirit-led ideas, or something else that nags at me until I get it out. Not to mention a bunch of guys are yelling outside my window...and you can hear everything in this Frat house. So, let's just go.... Many moons ago, Paul wrote a teeny tiny letter to Titus, and tonight while I was studying it, I was intrigued by Titus 2. The whole letter is basically Paul instructing Titus to bring up leaders on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean. He speaks about bringing up elders, and he also speaks about Christian mentorship.
As many of you know, I am in a discipleship program at Southwestern and I am also pursuing a minor in discipleship. I am extremely intrigued by the idea of discipleship, and deeply touched when I see it in action. I see it often with our mentoring program at SC. I've been so blessed to have an amazing mentor of my own, Kristi Singer. She is like my mom in Winfield, as well as one of my most blessed friends. I love, love, love being apart of a mentoring relationship. Kristi models life for me as my mentor. She teaches me of the faith, prays with me, checks up on me, and lives a life that glorifies God both when I am around her and when I am not. And not only that, she also teaches me real-life stuff in many different ways. I often watch her as a mom to her four children, as a wife to her husband (she leaves ooeey gooey icky love messages on her husbands wall all the time :)), she lets me use her kitchen and generally we just share life together. Thankfully, I also have this same type of relationship with my mom and dad. Of course, we went through our own family issues back in the day, but my parents are people who I really trust and go to for advice. They trust me, and I like the idea that I am trusted and supported--not just "reared" by them. Mentoring is a gift from God that is meant to be prominent.
So many times, I think adults have a hard time relating to students. They think they are too different, or they think that students think adults are lame. This even happens among parents. So many parents are lost when it comes to talking about true, real, genuine faith and life with their kids. This happens on the kid side, too, don't get me wrong. We often do not know how to go from the impersonal to the personal. According to Paul and Titus, this is not how it should be. We need mentors and godly parents to celebrate life and joy with and we also need godly men and women to help raise up the younger generation. It's a biblical command. We need men and women who will step back from their soap boxes and just help those who are seeking real advice. I can't quite let this one go...we've got to learn to hate awkwardness a little less and just dig deep into each other. Ya know? People are people, and problems are truly the same rooted problems from generation to generation. As a young person, I can say that I have questions...and I only know of a few select adults who I can go to knowing that they won't hop on a soapbox...even if they think I am stupid. Should this be? I hate awkwardness, too...but we've got to break this barrier. Even if it ain't our cup of tea...
