Three Things I've Learned from Titus 2 Friendships: Anteneshia Sanders

One of my best friends is fourteen years older than I am. Our friendship was quite unexpected. Both of us were in seasons of transition. She was a mom grieving the end of a marriage. I had just graduated college and was trying to figure out what was next. God saw fit to take two women in two vastly different seasons and bring about one of the most significant friendships I’ve ever had.

All this is from God. Not that cross-generational friendships are nonexistent outside of the church, but in Christ they are enriched and take on deeper importance. The Gospel doesn’t make these types of friendships possible, it makes them necessary.

            Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much     wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their          husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Titus 2:3-5

 Having women in my life who are different ages and in various stages has taught me so much about being a faithful woman of God. They have taught me to apply the Word of God in all seasons. They are wives and mothers, single and widowed, all modeling for me reverence to God that his word may not be reviled.

Here are three things I’ve learned from my older, much wiser friends:

1. God is good now.

 I throw the best pity parties if I do say so myself. Sometimes, I’m convinced that my life would be better if my circumstances were different. When I’m certain that I’d be happier with a future version of my life, my friends who have been there and done that remind me what’s true. They remind me that I will never arrive at a season of life that doesn’t require me to find my joy in Christ. While families and careers are gifts from God, they are not antidotes for a discontented heart. Not only do my friends tell me the truth about their own seasons, they are quick to point out God’s grace in my own.

2. Seeking God is a life-long task.

 Watching the older women in my life continue to seek God and learn his word has been such an encouragement to me. It is proof that we will never exhaust the riches and wisdom of God. As my friends gather new insight, I find myself inspired to do the same. I love hearing about what they are reading and what God is teaching them. Watching them grow more and more into the likeness of Christ spurs me to continue to seek the Lord.

3. God is faithful.

 I encourage you to place yourself around women who have been walking with Jesus for a long time. I’ve only lived for 27 years. Yes, I’ve seen the hand of God move powerfully throughout my life, but I also know that I’m still young. Not only am I young in age, but I still consider myself young in my faith. What a blessing it is to sit across from women who have waited patiently on the Lord for years, sometimes decades. As I listen to their testimonies and watch the outcomes of their lives, I see that God has never once failed them, nor will He fail me.

Originally from Kentucky, Anteneshia is a SEBTS student pursuing a Masters of Arts in Ministry to Women. She is an avid Whitney Houston fan who enjoys writing, spending quality time with friends, and discipling women. Anteneshia came to faith in Jesus at a young age and is convinced that his hand has guided her this far. She desires to spend her life teaching ,writing, and speaking for his glory.