Christian Living

Equipping the Saints Part 1

by Janice S Ramkissoon 
07/26/23
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"Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. ...Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled" (Titus 2: 2 & 6, NIV).

The intro to the ‘Equipped’ sermon series, from Sherwood Baptist Church, got me thinking:

The first part says: “Each stage of life is filled with new opportunities and challenges. Whether you're single, married, divorced, or widowed, a new parent or grandparent, starting a new career or entering retirement, we need to be equipped for each stage of life. Believers are called to seek God’s will, walk wisely, and live faithfully. And just about the time you get a handle on your current stage, everything changes. While the first half of life brings more at every turn, the second half of life reclaims much of what has been given.”

There’s a lot in that I’d like to touch on based on my life:

I’m not currently single but I once was and I didn’t get it right. In my single season there were so many opportunities that I missed. Now I am surrounded by many singles and I want to help them get it right but often ill-equipped to do so.

I’ve not been exposed to healthy marriages in my past but I am now a married woman who is expected to and wants to experience health in my marriage. My husband and I dares to go against the flow of culture when it comes to our marriage and parenting ministry but that has been our greatest challenge yet. We often seem to be the only ones wanting to travel that path. We’ve witnessed the breakdown of marriages we’ve been connected to and our hearts are broken. we want to be healthy in our marriage and we want to see those around us experiencing such health in their marriages and (for those who have children) in their parenting also.

As a child of divorce, I have been worn down over the years, watching the decline of one parent carrying the weight of the consequences attached to the decision to separate. The weight grows heavier with the years and the wounds left untended became infested; contaminating all who are in sight. I brought the fear into my marriage and much of the consequences of the aftermath are still with me today. No one saw the child caught in the mess of the divorce. I am now a wife who needs to be equipped for this journey, the same is necessary for my husband. Yet, this is the kind of training necessary before considering marriage. Hence the daily challenges we face are intensified.

One mother has been widowed for more than a year now and both mothers are in their retirement years. We’re not equipped for this.

There is the grieving that has been suppressed by my husband, I believe, for the loss of a father whose death brought closure to a longing for emotional connection.

Added to the mix, is an absent father who decided to show up after 50 years of neglect and I’m supposed to know how to handle his appearance in a wise and Godly way; being Christlike in my response, despite the confusion in the chaos and the anger that rages within.

I need to be equipped for this. 

So, I have been searching for answers within the church and this is one of the ways I have received assurance that I am looking in the right place for the answers I seek.

>>>Equipping the Saints 2