Now being trained to be a lady sounds an awful lot as if things are going to be done to you, esteemed lady-in-training. Many people think about education in general as something being done to them, but if that is actually the case, there is no value in their education at all. Whatever is done to you will only last as long as the one doing it to you has control over you, and when you move on, nothing much will be left but the vague feeling of "having been educated" with nothing practical to it, not even an idea of what to do next with your education. Many young people leave school with this feeling. We will have more to say about school in a later lesson.

Profitable and lasting education, however, is what you do for yourself. You are the motor of your own education, and with your vigor and interest the benefit of your education stands and falls. If you are curious, excited, diligent about anything and everything that there is to learn, you will learn a lot, and with much less effort than you might think. This does by no means imply that you won't learn from others and with others, on the contrary. You will learn from your parents, grandparents and siblings, and nobody, nobody is too young or too silly or too "uneducated" that you would not be able to learn something from him or her. Only be humble in your approach towards knowledge, be quick to listen and slow to speak (Jas 1:19), read a lot and ponder what you have read, exercise your powers of thinking and in everything, bring what you learn before God and refer to the Scriptures to see what they have to say on the matter.

One last thing:
Everything you will learn has something to do with becoming a lady. Not everything you CAN know, though, is worth knowing, and not everything knowable will further your endeavor to become a lady. Many things will do the opposite, they will pull you in different directions, confuse you, and lead you astray eventually. In choosing what materials you educate yourself with, rely on your parents for guidance when you are still young. God commanded them to educate you,
"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deu 6:7)
and if they take their God-given task down here seriously, they will walk with you every step of the way, provide you with profitable material, and help you grow in godliness, wisdom and confidence. Once you have learned to discern for yourself, rely on Scripture to tell you what would be considered "worthless things" you should not put before your eyes according to Ps 119:37, and what would be considered profitable.

Intruduction to the Lady Lesson series

Lady Lesson #1: A Lady's Do's and Don't's

Lady Lesson #2: The Most Important Thing

Lady Lesson #4: The Principle of Obedience

Lady Lesson #5: The Practical Side to Obedience

Lady Lesson #6: A Woman's Calling

Lady Lesson #7: What Is Wrong With School ?

Lady Lesson #8: The Principle of Purity

Lady Lesson #9: A Lady's Work Ethic

Lady Lesson #10: Siblings

When it comes to the Scriptures, Mark Twain's remark applies in an interesting way:

"It is not what you do not know that will hurt you the most. It is what you think you know, but it just ain’t so!"