So That ...

This morning, I have the honor of speaking to a group of ladies at Bethany Baptist Church in Mesquite, TX. I am going to talk to them about Titus 2 and the biblical command for women to teach/train/mentor women to be loving and godly examples in their homes. I've read, read about, and heard teaching from this passage many times before, but this week, as I prepared for this talk, something different stood out to me. The "so thats" -- the parts of the passage at the end of the commands that say, "so that ..." I am reminded that God gives us reason, purpose for our obedience, and in this case, the "so that" is that his Word would not be dishonored. The way we live our lives alongside one another is a reflection of our God. Wow. That's an important "so that."
In the application portion of my talk, I plan to highlight three women who have been very instrumental in my spiritual growth and development over the years. I want the women at Bethany to understand that investing in someone else's life can be a simple decision with eternal profit.
Robyn is the first woman I will highlight. She was my Sunday School teacher in high school, and she lived on the end of our street. The first thing that I remember learning from Robyn was that the Bible was God's word and it contains all of the principles, precepts, and promises I need for godly living. She would hold her worn, tattered Bible between her hands and run the pages back and forth over her palm as she passionately entreated us to know it, believe it, and live it. Many times when I've come up against a question I was not sure how to answer, I have pictured Robyn's utter confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture for godly living and turned again to its pages for direction. Another thing about Robyn was that we had a system. Each morning, as I would pass her house on my way to school, I would honk twice, and I knew without a shadow of doubt that Robyn paused wherever she was, whatever she was doing in her home, to pray for me. Prayer, intercession, is such a precious gift, and she gave it over and over again. The final thing that Robyn did as a way of investing in my life was to open her home and her heart to my friends. We had open campus lunch my junior and senior years of high school, so Robyn instituted the Tuesday Lunch Club. Every Tuesday, we'd bring our brown bags to her kitchen table, knowing there would be brownies or Rice Kripy treats waiting for us, and we'd sit around the table and laugh, tell about our days, vent our frustrations and use those times to invite friends to join us later at church for various events. It was such a simple thing, but I can't even count how many friends joined us and were introduced to the things of God around that table.
The next woman I will talk about this morning is a lady named Mat. Mat was my mom's mentor when I was born. She's prayed for me from before I came to be. Mat gave me my first book and loves to take credit for my joy in reading. She and Bob moved to Wisconsin when I was in Kindergarden but she stayed in touch and wrote me letters and always assured me she was interested in my life and prayed for me regularly. Only eternity will reveal the impact of those prayers. A few years ago, after I got to seminary, Mat and Bob were in DFW for a visit. I was able to spend a couple of days with them at my parents' home and even bring them to a Sunday night service at Wedgwood. A week or so after they left, I received a check in the mail and a word of encouragement. She and Bob wanted me to know that they were excited about what God is doing in my life and had agreed to support me with a monthly gift through the rest of my seminary career. I wonder if she realized I'd be here 3 more years! Her letters, her prayers, and her giving have left such a mark on my life.
The final woman I want to tell about is Leslie. Leslie was a Sunday School teacher in our college ministry. Like the others, she was a prayer warrior. She was also someone who enjoyed sitting down weekly for one on one Bible study and discussion with me. I think I learned the most from her, though, when we were doing laundry together or running errands for her family. She would talk to me about them, about her job, and her life and share with me the things she was pryaing for and how she did her best to turn daily tasks into times of worship or prayer. I remember telling others, "I want to be like her when I grow up, a woman who prays as she folds the laundry!"
Who is it that has invested in your life? What are the simple ways others have given and how has it led you to be more like Christ?