Women traveling alone??

Greetings

I am wondering what those here think of a young woman traveling alone. For safety reasons there are issues and concerns I believe. Another sister was sharing with me that women should never travel alone, especially young women. That at least another sister and brother should go along, that they should travel in groups for many different reasons. Here is just a small portion of the article.
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SO, what if your wife has a flat tire on the road? Wouldn’t you be THRILLED if a brother was driving right behind her to change it, instead of the first stranger that comes along? That’s GOT to be obvious. And a sister in the car with her—wouldn’t that be FAR superior to her being alone? And, the LOSS spiritually (“Where TWO OR THREE are—there I AM”) of not having people with you to pray or when you’re sharing Jesus, or to talk, or to help you see your areas of grievance to God in your life that you are blind to?

If God was right in 1 Corinthians 11 as we suppose He usually is, then man is the head of woman, AS Christ is the head of man. Would YOU want to go through life without JESUS there with you in the challenging times? Then IF we believe 1 Corinthians 11, why would we ever want to put women into an environment loaded with variables, and ask them to “be big and handle it”? SURE, they will statistically survive it, in all likelihood, but the fruit of doing things men’s way is always bad. Women become more masculine as they are put into roles that they should not be in, and identity crisis and conflicts in the home and dangerous things happen a thousand times more often than they would have if we were building properly. Russian Roulette. Not everyone dies—but someone will eventually. And their blood is on your hands if you have built foolishly. I have some blood on my hands from years ago, and my stupidity, and I can name a woman or two that are DEAD because my thinking was influenced by the patterns of the world, and not by God during those times on that subject. That’s only a small part of the reason that the men ought to cover and protect the sisters and children traveling around on their own and watching out for them in public places.

The MAIN reason a brother ought to care for a woman has to do with this: Do you ever see a man open a car door for a woman? Do you scoff at that? No. No one scoffs. They say, “Awww, isn’t that nice.” They like it. There’s something about it that people like—Chivalry isn’t dead afterall! Why do you put your coat down over a mud puddle for a woman to step across? Is it because she’s going to drown? Because she’s not strong enough to do it herself? Why do even the pagans know that you lay your coat down over the mud, rather than to let a true lady get her shoes dirty? There is an issue in the Spiritual realm that is not in essence about “safety” at all!! That IS an issue, but there is something MUCH deeper. Now SOME would never ever care to open a car door for a woman, and not that it should happen every time for things to be in order anyway. But some would NEVER do it, or THINK about doing it for a woman. I would have to suggest, or rather declare, that such a person does not have a sense of God in their hearts, in a whole realm that is immensely personal and important to God. If we would open a door for a woman, or help her with her chair or her coat—then the principle should be easily obvious that something a thousand times larger (like sending them down into a bad neighborhood) would matter far more than a car door.

It is a principle buried deep within the heart of God that we CARE FOR OUR WOMEN! They may not NEED the car door opened for them, but it is RIGHT in the Spirit to treat them like queens and princesses! It is a test of OUR characters to treat them lavishly and with sensitivity, and it is important for THEM also to not be forced to be masculine and lose the preciousness that God intended for them in His Pattern. There’s something about honoring her that is in God’s heart. He honors His Woman, His Bride. He’d die for her. He DID die for her! That’s the ultimate in chivalrous acts, wouldn’t you say? In the stuff of life is the place to reflect the deep love of the Son for His Bride. We were MADE for that. We reflect that love and kindness and consideration of Jesus that He has for his Bride. We care for her as he cares for his woman. We were made to reflect the love of Jesus to those around us.
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I will admit that while I am really trying to die to self in some of these areas this is a difficult teaching for me, but I do not want to miss what the Lord might have for me in this. I hope to hear what the Lord is showing some others here on this?

God bless
mj

Well, if the Lord would tell me to go and do - I would be confident that I was not alone. The Lord is always with me. The only time I should be concerned is if I was going out of God's will. When the Lord sends, He equips, protects and guides. He is so awesome and so faithful. We should not live in fear but in the knowledge He is constantly looking out for our best. He will bring Divine intervention where needed. I have been a young traveler alone and with children and as I look back I see God's hand on my travels even before I was saved. Nothing is impossible with God. Now, don't be foolish either but seek the Lord for His will and His guidance and He will direct our paths. He loves it when we ask and believe Him. Amen - Sheri

Greetings Sheri

I appreciate your heart on this and what you shared. I agree that if the Lord is leading us to do something or go to a certain place that He will be there with us:)

God Bless
mj

Edited: Was not sure if what I shared came across as I intended it to so I thought perhaps I should pray on it.

MaryJaner asked:

I am wondering what those here think of a young woman traveling alone

I am not aware of any scripture that would prohibit a woman traveling alone. To suggest that it is implied in 1 Corinthians 11 is a stretch. I have never heard of this idea and I am one who wears a head-covering at all waking hours.

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 is talking about headship and what the woman should do when she recognizes this chain of authority.

In my experience the females who will explain this concept away are the most paranoid people I know - paranoid about their own personal safety.

MaryJane, this subject in the past has evoked a lot of discussion and it was not always 'friendly'. So, if you want, you can PM me and I would be happy to discuss this more in private.

Blessings,
ginnyrose

Greetings Ginnyrose

Thank your for your response I did pm you:)

God Bless
mj

Mary Jane,

I re-read my post and I hope I didn't come across too strong. But when I re-read it - it could have come across that way. Yikes. Please forgive me if I did. I can see your a beautiful woman of God and of course you are of great faith - I was not so much thinking of you I was just sharing my experience and heart. Again, please forgive me. Much love in Jesus - Sheri.

Dear Joyful Heart,

The only time I should be concerned is if I was going out of God's will.

Amen to that, sister. As long as we are staying in the narrow path His Devine Providence covers us.

An example of how I see this in action:
As a child, I lived where show was a constant obstacle and skiing was a necessity to move from point A to point B. God covers this skiing as long as I do not use it for evil (as in going where He would not want me to go, or being prideful and thinking it was my skill as a skier that makes my safety possible)
I do not believe in recreational skiing for those that do not live in an area where it is necessitated. Or, if I may be moving to such an area and need to learn the skill to promote His work (as in missionary work)
Recreational skiing, involving airplane trips to a resort, should be obvious as 'worldly' occupations.

If it was necessary for me to get to the hospital or whatever and there was no one to accompany me - Psalm 23:4 . . .for Thou art with me, . . .

I do not believe you came across as too strong, it needed to be said. We are to learn from other Christian's examples and experiences.

White Stone

Greetings Sheri

No you did not come across as to strong with me:) I am just learning what it means to be a woman of God and there are some things in my own attitude He is showing me that are not of Him. There are some areas of submission that I have not fully grasped. There are many attitudes from my youth that can at times be a hindrance in my walk with Him. As I said I do agree that we need to have faith that if the Lord tells us to go or do something that in Him we can walk with full trust and confidence. I am also learning though that if there are others around me that the Lord is giving me to help me or even help keep me safe then I can and should submit myself in these areas also.

Hope this makes since:)

God Bless you sister and thank you for kind response
mj

Hi MaryJane
What concerns me about this article is that the writer states there is the blood of one or two women on his hands because of mistakes he has made. This is where you have to read between the lines of where he is coming from and why he is saying the things he is.
It seems to me that he is over-compensating for events in his past by wanting to wrap all women up in cotton wool like porcelain dolls.

Of course acts of chivalry are lovely although I've never had a man put his coat in the mud for me, I'd be greatly embarrased if that ever happened!
We don't need looking after constantly, being watched over everytime I left the house and was in public would drive me mad. The writer is too extreme.

Two great women travelers who come to my mind are Gladys Aylward, an amazing woman, sailed to China on her own and then treked across that country with a band of orphans to save their lives. Then, as I'm Welsh, I was brought up knowing about Mary Jones, a young teenage girl who walked 25 miles barefoot across the mountains of Wales alone - just to buy a bible. The result of her journey was the founding of the British and foreign Bible society.

The idea that a woman is at a loss spiritually for jouneying alone is beyond me, and the verse 'where two or three are gathered..there I am' does not fit this scenario at all and is twisting this scripture out of context. Doesn't the Lord promise to never leave nor forsake us? We carry His Spirit within us - we are never alone!

Of course we have to be wise and keep safe, but a fact I learned while working with the police is that it is young men who are a lot more likely to suffer attacks and violence on the streets rather than women.

A friend of mine, a Pastors wife has been bereaved for two years now and hit a milestone recently by driving herself to go on holiday alone. She phoned me so proud of herself that she had taken up the courage after 40 years of marriage and had gone out and done it, on her own!
She believes in the Lord's promise that He is a husband to the widow and is proving it.
She has since driven to many places around the country alone to visit old friends from the past.

In Britain breakdown companies prioritise women having problems alone in their vehicles and cameras cover most major roads. It would be unwise for a lone man to try to be chivalrous and stay with a woman in this situation, it will only add to her distress.

Please don't get wrapped all up in needless bondage over articles such as this - just live life! He came that you might have life and life more abundantly.

Awww good Mary Jane. No one had said anything about my post but as I said I re-read it and I dont want to be in-sensitive to others.

I hear you about being a godly woman There is so much out there about us. I like the Scripture about working out our salvation.... I think the more we spend time in the Word, the more we speak His Word and fellowship with Him He will reveal all things to us. Sometimes I have experienced people so involved in telling me how to be a virtuous woman that it took their eyes off of becoming a godly person. Lol, but I think it is getting better these days.

I will pray the Lord continues to make us the way He wants us and we please Him and put a smile on His face. Your special ya know!!! He will reveal! Blessing continued! Sheri

Ceri, you wrote has has been on my mind ever since I read this post. It has been bothering me and I finally decided I am going to come back and share more on this issue. But you beat me to it! Ceri, all I can say to your post is AMEN!

Now, I will share a bit more, most of it will be testimonial, hoping that someone can learn from it.

I get rattled when females are paranoid about their personal safety. I grew up with this mindset and so I was paranoid as well - I was afraid to do a lot of things because of what just might happen. I deprived myself of a lot of wonderful experiences all because I was afraid. Scripture tells us that God has not given us the spirit of fear but of a sound mind. Think about that for a while! If God did not give it, where does it come from? Certainly not from God, since this is the case, one is playing into the hand of the Enemy of our souls. Fear prevents one from developing trust in our God and Savior. It stymies faith as well.

If a godly woman acts and lives accordingly, you have nothing to fear. If you live like this and know that fear is healthy but only in the context of reality, you will know that if you do experience it, God is warning you to take extra precautions.

MaryJane, since I have learned this, I come to enjoy life much more, do things that scare many females. When I tell them what I love to do and that there is no fear, they are bewildered...

Or, have you considered Mary, the mother of Jesus? Remember how she left her home and traveled to see her cousin Elizabeth? Scripture does not tell us that she had a traveling companion - it implies she traveled alone. And God was with her...

MaryJane, I suspect fear happens when a person is living outside the will of God. This is the short of the long. One has not learned to trust Him. One does not need carnal weapons to protect herself either. Last Monday a woman in our community was shot and killed by her estranged boyfriend. He had been harassing her and she reported him to the police. They came out, looking for him and then after they left, he came, got into the house and took her guns and killed her, her son and then himself. Ownership of weapons will not protect you either.

God bless you, MaryJane, as you sort through these issues and may your family learn to know what it means to trust the LORD for your personal safety. I often times pray for my personal safety if I am going to travel a distance by myself and we do also before we go traveling a distance - we have a word of prayer asking God for traveling mercies.

Blessings,
ginnyrose

Greetings Ceri

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate the thoughts that you shared. It is interesting to hear how things work in Britain as opposed to here in the US when a woman finds herself stranded. Here in this country we do not have cameras on many of our roads. At least not where I live so it is nice to have one or two others with me if it works out that I can, especially after dark. I do agree that we must trust in the Lord in all things and of course He does cover us whether we are alone or in a crowd. I will admit I rather enjoy the company when others can come along. I have had some times of wonderful fellowship and sharing about Jesus during trips to the grocery store or to run and errand so for me when the teaching spoke of two or more being gathered I really got that part:) There are times however when this is not possible for others to come along and I must go alone.

You are right young men are vulnerable as well. There is actually more to this teaching that addresses that issue as well, of how we can help one another be accountable by not always trying to go it alone.

As for this teaching being extreme, I do not make it into a law that I must live by but I have learned some really good things from it and am seeing that their are many of my own attitudes that I have held on to that are not Biblical. Submitting and learning to die to self in some of these areas of my life have been very challenging but as I do I am growing in the Lord. It really has been a very good process for me in learning what it means to trust and have faith in Him and not having to be afraid or feel like I have to be independent all the time. I take from it what the Lord has for me:)

Thank you again for sharing with me.

God Bless
mj

Greetings Ginnyrose

Thanks for sharing this with me. As I mentioned in my pm this was not just about myself. Its interesting the more I have been praying about this and seeking God on this the more I realize for me this has little to do with fear but a lot more to do with issues in my heart concerning past attitudes. I think because my dad was always gone and my mom had to do so much on her own(forced into his role) I picked up some of those traits and habits. Some of these attitudes have cause real struggles in my marriage at times because I took on roles and assumed authority when I should not have. For instance when the article talked about how some times these attitudes can effect ones marriage that really struck a nerve with me. Even just a year ago if my husband had asked me not to go alone to take someone with me to the grocery store I would have become offended and told him how capable I was to be on my own. Now I see that I do not have to have that heart and that I can in love submit in some of these areas to what my husband is asking with out feeling like I have something to prove.
Hopefully this is making sense:)

We do pray also for safety when we travel. I also agree that having a weapon in the house will not insure that you are safe either. In fact I have had some very close calls at times that have me convinced that I do not want a weapon in my home.

God Bless
mj

MaryJane,

I understand that all of us have issues to deal with as a result of our upbringing. In my case it was one of fear and how I had to overcome it.

I was also taught to obey and for the most part this is not difficult. My dad first and later my husband have me work as a go-fer - I have had to run all over to get things for them. Several times my husband asked me to go to Birmingham - 3 hours away - to get something that he desperately needs and I went alone.

Submission? One is always learning - I am not sure if one will ever learn to be absolutely perfect in this area. This is the problem that dogs wives; for the brethren it is to love their wives. One preacher says that if a husband would love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, the wife would not have such a big problem with submission! In any case, the devil will find a loophole somewhere to foul things up.

Yes, we all find ourselves in different situations and it is from those that we learn.

You are doing well, I think, MJ.

Blessings,
ginnyrose

For what it is worth, I love traveling alone. The Lord always draws nearer when my focus is completely on Him, and traveling affords this as there are not any interruptions or distractions. It is always an adventure with Him. It has become even more of an adventure as He is teaching me to lay aside all of my wants and desires and to trust completely in Him.

Maybe someday He will give me a traveling companion that desires to follow Him all things. That would be a great blessing I think. As far as fear - the only thing that we are to fear is the Lord. Cameras, police officers, weapons all become useless with Him as our protector. I am not saying that He will not use them, but they are not necessary. He is all that we need.

Decided that it was not fair to go off topic with my post so I deleted it. At this time I do not really have any thoughts to add to this discussion except to say that I liked the teaching shared and I think all the comments made have been interesting.

in Him
rdg