Mentoring

I am a product of mentoring.  In college, Marisa Joulfaian mentored me and we had such a great time memorizing Romans 6, among other things.  I also consider Ceslie Patty a college mentor of mine, though we never set up anything formal.  In my early career working days, Carol Grieb took me under her wing and truly shared her heart and family. 

All 3 of these wise women blessed me to no end.  What I continue to be amazed about is that in all these stages of my life, I was most likely going to be a "temporary relationship." But these women took the risk, made the effort to get to know me, and welcomed me into their families anyway.  Happily, I still keep in touch with all 3 of these women and they continue to bless me with their friendship. 

By God’s grace, I now get to pay it forward.  I’ve been mentoring a younger gal from church for the last few months, and we have had such a great time getting to know each other!  God truly paired us up.  Kim is 10 years younger than me.  We take neighborhood walks every other week, and Z usually tags along in the stroller.   

Being on the mentor side (vs. the mentee) now, I see that there isn’t really that much difference between the two titles.  Yes, I’m older by a few years, but I still have plenty to learn.  We should all desire to be held accountable to each other and ultimately to God, all our lives.  I hope that even when I’m 96 years old I will continue to be learning new things about our Lord!

Honestly, Kim and I would probably have never met were it not for this mentoring program.  She goes to the Sunday morning service and we go to Saturday night service.  Our paths would not have crossed naturally.  But I’m so thankful for my friendship with Kim, she puts a fresh perspective on life topics, we both love sailing, and I’m so encouraged in her love for the Lord and her perseverance to be in God’s will. 

Kim and I were asked to share with our church’s Mentoring Group our testimonies about how mentoring has affected our lives.  Here were some of my thoughts: 

Mentoring…

• Helps take you out of your own little world and helps you see the needs and desires of others.
  
• Helps you to be a better person by being accountable to each other and to God.  Being vulnerable with other believers helps us stay on track in our walks with Christ.
  
• Helps you realize you are not alone in your struggles.  Plus you get to rejoice together as well!
  
• Keeps us in God’s word and in a love relationship with Him!
  

If you’ve never been in a mentoring relationship before, I highly recommend it.  Mentor or mentee, the relationship will help you stay sharp and focused on the important things in life.   

Kim and me.