Mentoring

I can't stress enough,  the  importance of mentoring !

I was fortunate, and blessed to have gotten the opportunity to be mentored by those who were not only Christians, but obedient Christians! I learned a lot of spiritual lessons while getting  much needed support along the way.

There were those who prided themselves on challenging me, not that I couldn't have used a challenge here and there, but that didn't draw me closer to God. It only turned me off. While others saw potential in me, and made it their business to do something about it in a tangible way. I'll never forget the sister who found out that I wrote poems, and she found a Christian magazine that had a poetry section and connected me with them.  I wrote for their magazine for quite some time.

The Lord gave me some sisters who were willing to pay close attention to me. They contributed a lot to my development. There was a couple of  sisters who kept me involved with them as they did arts and crafts for VBS and other personal projects. I was always interested in art as a child, and being able to learn  and grow under them was a blessing.

I am big on mentoring! Take what you have learned and pass it on to others. I am also like the Apostle Paul in this regard; I don't take prisoners. What I mean by this is that I don't waste time on individuals who only want to fool around or hang out for the sake of hanging out because they have nothing better else to do. You've got to be passionate about what you say you want to do. You have to possess enough maturity to follow through on what needs to be done, and be interested in being guided.

I am reminded in scripture of several mentors:

1. Moses had a Jethro!
2. Joshua had a Moses!
3. Timothy and Onesimus  had the Apostle Paul!
4. John Mark had a Barnabas!
5. Samuel had an Eli!
6. Saul and David had a Samuel!
7. David had a Nathan!
8. Elisha had Elijah!
9. Esther had a Mordecai!
10. Apollos had Priscilla and Aquila!
11. Ruth had a Naomi!
12. Timothy had a Lois!
13. The 12 disciples had Jesus!

When you read the stories behind these names, you see how each person progressed spiritually. We also see the mistakes and challenges some  had, but they learned to do better, by God's grace.

It's important to take others under your wing for the spiritual good. It provides a most important opportunity, for those who are younger, not only in age, but in the faith, for growth and learning, and fellowship. I don't know what I would have done without that type of one on one interaction. 

​Ask the Lord to give you someone to mentor. Ask Him to show you any persons that may be in need of all that He has given you. Just think about the challenges and trials you've experienced so far, and who could benefit from what you've learned.

Always remember this, all you have experienced in this life wasn't just for you, or only about you!!

 

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