Hi Reformyourself,
I can only speak for myself, but the reason I asked about age is because throughout my life, people (in this case, we'll talk about women) have often patted me on the head and given me a "There, there, sweetie," and have tried to "teach" me from their own perspective/agenda without knowing, realizing, or asking that I'm either almost as old as they are, almost the same age they are, or sometimes even older than they are.
I'm kind of at that in-between stage. Some see me as younger, some see me as older (I'm probably not that much further behind you age-wise, but people almost always think I'm younger), and we all have different life experiences. These days, I learn a lot from younger women too.
In the past, I realized that I had some "teachers" who would use God as a way of trying to manipulate me into being more like them, rather than trying to help me be who God made me to be. I've learned to be very careful about choosing teachers (if I have a choice.) I'm sure you're a great teacher
, I'm just explaining things from my point of view.
Lol... So I guess that would be my own advice to young women -- pray carefully about whom God wants you to pay attention to. If someone starts to tell that you're being rebellious, not listening, etc., ask God whom this correction is coming from -- God, or the person themselves because they want their own protege. Unfortunately, this has happened to me a few times. And of course, if the correction is just, ask God for the heart to listen to it -- but it's important to remember to "test the spirits" as the Bible tells us to do.
A few years ago, I was looking for a mentor at the church I was attending. I was actually hoping the woman I had asked would be my mentor, but she introduced me to someone else, and this second woman had no interest in learning who I was or what I was about. When I met her, she gave me a book title and told me this is what we would be studying together.
She didn't ask anything about me, my life, or why I was seeking a mentor in the first place -- and that's not because I was trying to make it all about me. But I've never done a lot of the things "teachers" try to tell me not to do anyway (I've never been drunk, never so much as taken a drag off a cigarette, never tried drugs, and have been single for many years so I'm not someone constantly looking for a date) so my needs in a mentor may be slightly different than what they're used to. I'm not saying they have to have lived the same way at all, I'm just saying, I would hope the person would want to know enough about me to know what my own personal weak points are and how we can help each other in a two-way relationship, not something that's just one-sided.
Needless to say, I didn't take up this second woman's "mentorship" or offer to "teach" me (which is another important lesson -- if something doesn't seem right, use the power to say "No thank you" and walk away if you need/are able to.)
One of the things I look for in a teacher is someone who wants to collaborate TOGETHER and would ask me about what I'd like to study with her and why I sought her out in the first place.
I'm not at all saying you wouldn't do this for young women you teach here -- in fact, I'm looking forward to learning from your teaching style
-- again, it's just giving an explanation from my own point of view.