Mentors, A Word from the Wise.

I once heard someone say that if if you are under 40 years old, you need to have someone at least 20 years older than you speaking into your life. BAM! Take that to the bank and cash it!

I have been so privileged in my life to have had opportunities of older, wiser women to take me under their wings and offer encouragement. Sometimes it’s for a short period of time and others, a long term friendship.

I am who I am – first and foremost – because Jesus Christ radically changed my life. He is my Anchor, Teacher, Father, Friend and Savior. When I need a heart change not just an attitude change, He is the only One that can do it. My husband comes next in line. What love, leadership and friendship I have in him! I’m so blessed to live along side a dude that loves the LoRd with all he has, is a faithful husband and father and is not afraid to admit when he’s wrong. He is a servant leader who loves to pour into others. And hot dang is he talented! I can go on and on forever about him. Outside of that, the greatest influences I’ve had have been the mentors God has placed in my life and the books I’ve read.

I was 15 when my first mentor unexpectedly came into my life. She was my boyfriend’s mother, “Bunny” who loved Jesus and welcomed any weirdo in her home with arms wide open. It was like they had a revolving door- friends from every sibling, band members or neighbors frequented the house. A  mother of 5 children stricken with Leukemia, she was the glue of the family. Doctors said she’d live for a short time but God blessed her 9 more years with her young family. Money was tight from all the medical bills but no complaint was ever heard from her mouth. I can hardly do justice in describing her. She was just beautiful. She loved Jesus. She often sat out on the porch with me after school to talk,  listen, and non-aggressively offered advice. Even on days she was ill, she still managed to mother so many from her bedside.  She passed away when I was 17. I will never forget the phone call or that day as long as I live.  Well over a decade later, I am so thankful for the friendship I have with her daughters to this day.

Seven years later, my next mentor came in like a wrecking ball. This time, I married her son.  Arlene welcomed me in her family and labored over me in prayer despite my incredible immaturity and selfishness, drastically changing the way I perceived things. It wasn’t good enough to just go to church, “Are you going to live what you believe? Even when it’s difficult?”  She taught me life lessons I wrestled with that have made me who I am today.

The LoRd again has placed someone in my life that I value greatly. She has in a sense, picked up where Arlene left off. My approach much different: I hunted this mentor down and told her I’d grab a sleeping bag and she could teach me everything she knows. Instead, we crush the gym Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30am.  She and I are very different in personalities and backgrounds but this woman loves Jesus and can offer such godly wisdom and correction that when she talks, I shut up and listen. Believe me, it’s comes like a breath of fresh air. We all can have friends or peers that agree with us with how we feel or justify how we act. But to have a wise woman that can correct me and tell me that the decisions I make now will have an effect on my life, my husband, and my children- why would I forfeit God’s plan over wanting my own validation or justification? Priceless she is. “If you are off just 2/10ths of a degree from what God has for you, it may not seem like much now but overtime, the difference is huge.” She’s constantly challenging me to keep in step with what God has and to keep a clean slate with Him and others.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5

Again, I would not be who I am today unless the LoRd graciously put these people in my life. I encourage you to hunt down your own mentor, someone who is a few steps ahead of the game than you and glean from that wisdom.  Ask God who generously gives and knows how to orchestrate friendships. I am forever grateful to these godly women and hope I can turn around and have the same influence on others throughout my life.

In His Grip,

Amy