In Search of a Mentor: Find Them, Be One

I'm 50 now.  I've always been excited to turn 50.  Fifty is a grown up.  

Strange.  I don't feel any different.  

I've been thinking a lot lately about life.  My children are so self-sufficient and I have too much free time for my brain.  I'm 50.  I think my brain just loves to toss thoughts up and see where I go with them!

Anyway, today something triggered a flashback to my younger self.  The self that was busy with school-age children, toddlers, babies, pregnancies... homeschooling, working on home businesses, busy days that were sometimes overwhelming but always fulfilling.  Days when 'getting them fed and clothed" were the only goals I accomplished. Days that I look back on with some measure of longing... simple times when I didn't realize 'the days are long but the years are short'.  

I remember crying out to the Lord for a Mentor.  This Wonderful Woman would be everything I wanted to be.  She would have it all together, never miss days of schooling, have a perfectly functioning house, never have a mountain of laundry, and sleep all night long. She would have the same values as me, she would have the same preferences, she would have 'walked the path' before me and she could give me guidance in every area.  Contented sigh.  Oh, Lord, please... where is she?!  And I looked and I prayed... and she was so elusive... I could not find her.  Over time I think I just gave up... and you know what I discovered when I stopped looking?

I found her.  And her.  And her... the Lord had answered my prayers but in ways I had not recognized (isn't that the way it is sometimes?) The Lord met my needs, each of them, through *different* women.  Wow!  What an idea!  Why did I think there was that One Special Woman who would be My Mentor?  He sent me an amazing friend who shared her knowledge of healthy cooking... one who is an amazing, patient, kind mother.... one who loved sewing and taught me to smock ... and on and on and on.  

I want to encourage you, young mamas, if you are looking for, feeling a need for a mentor in your life... look around you.  I bet the Lord has women already there in your life.  Women who will speak the truth in love, women who have the gifts and talents that you desire.  Keep  your eyes open.  Listen.  Watch.  Then ask questions.  Those Mamas who are on the path, they may be way ahead of you or only a step or two ahead, but they want to share what they have learned with you.  They want to share God's truth with you.  They want you to learn from their missteps. They want to be a blessing to you.  

Then, do the same.  Look around you, look for those young Mamas who are a step or three behind you.  Reach out to them.  You will be blessed, I promise you that!