By Carla Foote
Juliet was short and soft-spoken, but she carried herself
with a presence of strength and confidence as she stood before our group in her
sari, orienting our international team to the complexity of culture and
religion in India. I tried to guess her age but didn’t want to be rude and ask.
I was already wowed when she was introduced, not only by her past
accomplishments, but by how she was choosing to use her influence in her current
season of life. She was clearly past 70 but had recently started two distinct
and influential ministries in India: a women’s magazine for professional women and
a ministry that focused on training and empowering women in shanty-towns. Her
women’s empowerment ministry was active in a Hindu area and a Muslim area of
the city and she was definitely hands-on with the activities. The emphasis of
her women’s empowerment ministry was developing skills in computers, tailoring,
literacy and income-generating projects.
I was thrilled that Juliet was part of our magazine training
class in Bangalore, India, where the students ranged from 25 to 73, all active
in some aspect of Christian publishing. I knew that when I went to India, if I
was open and flexible, I would learn as much or more than the students would,
even though my role was to go and teach on editorial topics. Throughout the
week I felt like I was in a hall of fame, where every encounter was with
someone who had an inspiring story. Not all the stories were dramatic, but each
pointed to a faithful God and to diligent servants of God, who persevered,
often behind the scenes, to fulfill their call to ministry, to use their
influence in their appointed slice of the world. There were students from
India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Zambia and Nigeria and trainers from India, USA,
Ukraine and UAE.
As the week progressed, I learned that Juliet is 73, exactly
20 years older than me. For some reason those 20 years held huge significance
for me. I have greatly benefited from mentors in many seasons of my life, but
currently my mentors are about 10 years older than me. To get to know Juliet
and witness the way she lived her faith on the cutting edge was deeply
impactful on my perspective of how to follow God in all seasons of life.
I also realized that I don’t have a lot of interaction with
people who are over 70. My current circle of relationships includes many
younger people, peers my own age and some great friends who are about 10 years
ahead of me. Even in my own family, I am the older generation and I didn’t see
my parents live past 64, so I am short on role models a generation ahead of me.
I want to be like Juliet when I am 73. Oh, I might have a
different call than hers, but I want to still be willing to follow God and use
my influence in ways that he reveals when I am in a season of life when it
would be easier to coast into the finish line.
Bio:
Carla Foote is Executive Editor of MomSense magazine for MOPS International
(www.MOPS.org). She was a trainer for
Magazine Training International at a conference in Bangalore, India.
Beautiful reminder, Carla. I have found that having relationships with people of all ages brings richness to life. My husband and I still have four of our grandparents alive (and the other four have passed away in the last three years). They range in age from 86-95, and they have given us perspective about life and faith that we wouldn't have without them. Two of my grandparents were amazing people of faith, who taught me that faith is a life-long journey. One morning, after reading a devotion aloud to me and my grandmother, my grandfather told us that His relationship with Christ was an exciting adventure because there is always more to learn, and the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know it all. I agree with you about wanting to follow God's leading until the end...and today, for that matter.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gift that you have these generations in your family! I am committed to extending my circle up to include those generations not present any more in my family.
ReplyDelete