What Younger Women Want From Us Older Ones

Mabel (our Lhasa Apso grand dog) sat in my lap on our screen porch watching our older dog Macy simply relax as the thunderstorm rolled by.

She looked at Macy, she looked at me, then she laid her little head down as if she had reasoned that if Macy were okay, she was too.

And I thought about older women in the church.

I thought about how so many times over the years I had watched them go through storms, and not die! And I thought about how watching those further along than me had encouraged my faith. It still does!

And now, that I’m on the older side of things, (did I just admit this?!) I’ve wondered, what do younger women need from those older in the faith?

I’ve asked some of them lately -including my daughter and some of my nieces in the photo below.

First, they say they need us to know they truly want relationships with us (though the enemy tries to convince us they don’t…it’s just not true!)

They say they need our encouragement. They need to know they can walk through hard things and keep going.

Like us, they worry about things that may not have even happened to them yet, but, for some of us, those hard things have happened.

And those young girls are watching and they are encouraged that we keep going, leaning on Jesus, as we’ve endured hard things like raising difficult kids, dealing with financial troubles, enduring marriage problems, facing health issues, and losing spouses.

The fact that you can still smile, that you still raise your hands and praise Jesus helps those younger know they might could too!

Those younger women are watching you but they also know you are watching them; and your words of encouragement can bless them greatly.

They love it when you notice them being a good wife or mom and compliment them. ❤️

This world knocks them down ALL day long, devaluing that role, and your words of affirmation can go a long way to encourage them to love their husbands and their children well (Titus 2:4)

And your prayers. They love to know you are a safe place for them, that you would listen to their fears and that you will remember them in your prayers!

Increasingly, many of them are separated from their moms, or don’t come from Christian homes, and your hugs and your prayers are a balm to their souls!

And they need us to speak Biblical truth to them.

They need us to lovingly remind them that above all, they can stand on God’s Word.

They need us to remind them, that as they seek God’s will, through making studying His Word a priority, and as they follow His ways instead of the ways of this world, they will find peace, hope and joy! (Prov 3:5-6, Phil 4:7)

They also need to know they can’t be perfect and neither are you. They need to know, even when they blow it that God won’t leave them because you’ll tell them none of us are perfect but God will indeed carry them and keep loving them , as He has you, as they just keep getting back up and running to Him.

And don’t forget to hug them. Those young women in the faith love your sweet hugs-they feel the love of Jesus through them.

Oh friend, yes we may be getting older, but God is not done with us. Let’s be intentional to love those younger women in our lives and encourage them in the faith!

And you know what else? We need those young women like they need us too. They’ll keep us on our toes, they’ll remind us of purpose, they’ll help us with some fashion tips and…we even get to hold their babies!

Kimjaggers.com