“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 train the younger women…”(Titus 2:3-4a)
Do you have women in your life that influence you, or modeled for you, the way to live in Christ? Do you reflect on their lives and the lessons you learned? Our church encourages ‘mentoring’ relationships among women, as well as with men. Some people receive Christ apart from those types of mentors. That is why the church is committed to obeying the Scriptures and placing older women (in the faith) with younger ones. In my family, I give thanks for several wonderful mentors. Today, I remember Aunt Mary Ida who is with Jesus now.
Mary Ida Liles
Aunt Mary Ida
by Maxine N. McLean
Who sends us cards for each season
Each birthday, or event to recall
Or when we have a special need
Or for no reason at all?
Who makes us feel so special
When we don’t seem special at all
Who responds each time we need her
Answers each time we call?
Who gives and gives without forethought
Who “hears” with her heart, not her ears-
Who “hears” only good things about us-
We call her Aunt Mary Ida-
And we love her with all our heart-
A Christ-like shining example
This one, He has called apart,
Called to do His service
If it be lowly or great-
“Well done” He will say in greeting-
Someday at heaven’s gate.
This poem, written by a distant cousin, is copied from the front of a family cookbook dedicated to my great-aunt. Aunt Mary Ida lived most of her life without the gift of hearing, and without a husband or children. She spent her days pouring Christ-likeness into the lives of those around her.
Aunt Mary Ida taught me much about how to cook, scraping every drop of batter out of the bowl before you bake. She made a delicious multi-layer coconut cake, and the best chocolate pies!
Aunt Mary Ida taught me how to crochet. I wish she knew that I just finished crocheting a blanket, which a friend will mail to an orphan ministry in Guatemala, this month. And Lindy has nearly completed one, too.
Aunt Mary Ida showed me how to ‘receive’ when others treated you wrong, how to give back kindness, how to refrain from retaliating. Even as a child, I understood when Aunt Mary Ida was mistreated by others. I could see the pain inside of her, but she never held onto unforgiveness or bitterness. She just loved in return.
And Aunt Mary Ida showed me how to take an interest in others through her letter writing. She shared details of all the family members like who got promoted, who went to the doctor with a back ache, who hit a home run in the baseball game, and so forth. Like her hand-made blankets, she knitted the family together.
As I surf through this cookbook for a good recipe, maybe just Hobo Stew for dinner, I give thanks for Great-Aunt Mary Ida and the way she showed me how to live. We did not have formal meetings. She did not tell me that she was mentoring me in the faith. She just lived her life hidden in Christ, and Jesus taught me through her.
Now, what about you? Are you receiving from someone “how to live in Christ?” Are you giving to someone “how to live in Christ?” Paul instructs women in the church to do this in Titus 2. Pray about it. God will show where to invest your time, and with whom, and God will show you who “to imitate as they imitate Jesus.”
Hello! I'm Brooke.
