Mentor

I have always been jealous of people that had mentors. I wanted one, but I had no idea how to get one. How do you find someone to mentor you? What is required? Why would anyone really commit to that time with me when life is so busy? For some reason this year, I decided to finally pursue relationships with two godly women that I would consider my mentors.

I love these women. I love spending time with them. With one, I rarely get time together, but she has definitely challenged me, and her words continue to push me forward. The other I get more time with, and believe me we can talk for hours. Just having a relationship with her encourages me.

One day I introduced this wonderful woman to a friend and called her my mentor. She balked. "We're friends" And I was taken aback. Of course, I hadn't asked her to be my mentor, but why wouldn't she want the title?

I talked to another friend. He said, "what's the difference between a friend and a mentor anyway?"

Better look it up.

Once you get past the friend of Odysseus, you see this definition at Merriam-Webster.com:

: a trusted counselor or guide b: tutor, coach


So, anyone you consider a trusted counselor or guide or tutor or coach is your mentor? I actually like this a lot, but I think the there is a lot more that most people add to this term which makes it daunting. "How could I be a mentor?"

People may think that being a mentor means being perfect. Since no one is, then mentors would not exist. In a Christian context, mentors may think they need to have it all together spirtually. Nope. A mentor should be someone growing, but they don't have to have answers to every question or perfect advice for any possible scenario.

You see, I am a mentor. That's what I do. I'm a youth leader, and I usually have girls that I meet with and spend time with. I know I'm screwed up...and it doesn't take long til they know it too. :) But I love them and I'm there to counsel or guide in whatever ways they might need. Most times that's not that much different than being a friend. Just a listener or an asker of questions. I'm passionate about being a mentor even though I'm not very good at it most of the time. Why wouldn't anyone want that? (Maybe we all think that about our passions.)

In the end, I realized that not every friend of mine is a mentor, but a lot more of my friends really are my trusted counselors at different times and seasons in my life. Whether they accept the title or not, they are my mentors. No need to be jealous anymore!

Psalms Personalized ~ 124

If God had not been on my side,
sing with me,
If God had not been on my side
when Satan attacked me
then I would have drowned in
the raging sea of emotion
the water would have filled
my lungs so I couldn't
take a breath
My head would have sunk under
the waves of sin and sadness.
Praise the Lord!
He rescued me from the torrent
He lifted me onto stable ground
and dried me off. He healed me.
He is all the help I need,
my mighty refuge and loving God.
He freed me to sail with Him ~ the Almighty!

Psalms Personalized ~ 130

Psalm 130
Out of the depths of my emotions
I call for You, My Lord.
Please hear my voice and
know I cry to You in desperation.
If you considered our sins, I'd be
hopeless~completely lost
but out of Your perfect character
You bring forgiveness, so we could
see You for who You are and worship.

I long for you Lord; I wait with
longing that shakes me to the core
and I put my hope in Your word.
I wait for You ~ looking expectantly
for You and I long for You.

My family, put Your hope in the Lord
because He loves you with deep
enduring faithfulness and love and
redemption that overflows

He will buy me back from all my sins.

Love one another deeply, from the heart

1 Peter 1:22
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

And I told him, "loving people sucks! It's so hard and so painful"

And He gently replied, "try dying for them"

Anticipation

I used to get very excited for things in life. I used to build up huge amounts of anticipation. The planning and thinking were almost as fun as the actual event.

Over the last year or so, though, I feel like my anticipation muscle has atrophied. It's not that I haven't had fun plans. I've had lots. But for some reason, I just haven't looked forward to things in the same way.

The curious thing is why. And I don't really know.

I finally felt a little anticipation today. And it was really wonderful. I miss that!

The day after

It was quiet on September 12, 2001. It was eery how quiet. You never really notice all the noise you get from airplanes until suddenly the silence in the sky overwhelms you. I remember staring out at the sky.

I remember wondering how the world would go on turning, and yet I headed back to work. And I turned on the TV where I'd watched that tower fall. I had no idea that it had been in that kind of danger.

And all was quiet.

But the images were burned into our retinas.

Journaling

When I was in 7th grade, I started journaling. Diaries never worked for me for long, but a prayer journal was something I learned to do that was more meaningful. I used a prayer journal for a long time. It helped me focus during my time with God. I enjoyed writing, so it was an easy way for me to communicate.

And then, at a women's retreat years later, I had an encounter with God that sent me running. Crazy, I know. Retreats are supposed to draw us closer to God. But I stopped journaling pretty abruptly. I was scared to death of God and what he was going to do in my life. My faith wasn't gone, but I was definitely avoiding Him. My relationship with God eventually recovered, but the journaling didn't continue.

In a wonderful, needed, de-cluttering stage, I started to read my prayer journals which I had kept in a box. And you know what, they were EMBARASSING! Wasn't I supposed to feel so blessed by how God had moved in my circumstances when I read these again? Instead I was dismayed by how I sounded. I was ashamed of how I was still dealing with the same issues. And I could tell what I wouldn't even put down in the journal because I was afraid someone else might read it. I was horrified at my own banality. I threw away all but my very first prayer journal. How freeing to let go of it...maybe...

Well, over and over in the last few months, the prayer journal has been mentioned in things I've read and by people I respect. Yes, Lord, I'm listening. A prayer journal is something that really does help me process. I don't have to read it again to have received the blessing out of processing on paper with You.

Downpour

The rain is pouring!
It has washed away the evil clown that the neighbor boy chalked on our sidewalk.
Just like Jesus washes away my sins.
Except my sins are a lot more sinister than an evil clown.
Still he keeps on washing me clean, like the rain keeps pouring today.