Category Archives: Submitting to God

A Mentor’s Words

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Last time I shared the blessing of a mentor whose steady help came to me mostly through letters written the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper. As a result, I have a treasure-trove of mentor-wisdom from which I continue to draw.

What follows here is the answer to the question, how does a good mentor mentor? The statements below are pulled from much longer letters, but they serve as a sampling of tried and true wisdom funneled from God through my Aunt Joyce to the rest of us. Here’s some of what she wrote:

  • Aunt Joyce's letters, 2The Lord sandwiches blessings and joys between times of changing us, which get us ready to live with him for eternity. He wants every individual to become like him and is helping us with that.
  • The fruit of the Spirit is… peace. I thank God when I feel peace [during tough times], because then I know it can’t be from any source other than his Spirit.
  • Although God has put you in difficult circumstances, I’m praying your praise of him and thanksgiving to him will be renewed, even now, where you are.
  • God doesn’t promise to remove our grief or burdens, but he does promise to sustain us through them, even through the bewildering unknown.
  • God is especially watchful over old people and children, while he is teaching and growing the in-betweens.
  • I think financial burdens can be the utmost of tests. You could lose the home you’ve lovingly cared for and the beautiful gardens you’ve planted, and many other things difficult to surrender. You can weep, but be sure you do it after crawling under his soft, protective wings.
  • I know you’re spending significant time with the One who has all the answers to our questions and the power to execute them in his perfect way. He has all we need, but so often we don’t even ask.
  • You may remember that I have been through and experienced the value of lessons learned from God’s loving hands, but I didn’t always recognize it as his love at the time.
  • I’m learning the difference between knowing the Word and knowing the Author of it. Feel free to knock on his door!
  • When we do the praying, God will do the rest. Don’t ever doubt that.
  • We are helpless to change anyone else. Only God can. Our part is to love them and pray for them. Simultaneously we should be asking God what he’s trying to teach us in that process. And then we should listen.
  • When we’re learning lessons in life, it’s never easy and often seems endless, but it helps to remember the Lord is on our side, listening to even our weakest cry.
  • Prayer doesn’t necessarily change our struggles, and it certainly doesn’t change God, but it does change us, when we pray.
  • Thank you, Margee, for letting me share my heart and for the privilege of having a part in yours.

“The Teacher was considered wise, and [she] taught the people everything [she] knew. [She] sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.” (Ecclesiastes 12:9-10)

A Mentor’s Methods

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The TeacherSince I’ll be traveling for a few days, I’m re-posting 3 blogs about mentoring and what a good mentor looks like. Here’s the first:

Mentoring programs are big nowadays, but they’ve existed since ancient times. Elijah mentored Elisha. Moses mentored Joshua. Elizabeth mentored Mary. Paul mentored Timothy. And of course Jesus mentored his 12 disciples.

I’ve had several impactful mentors through the years, my parents among them. But the one who walked me through my adolescent immaturities and stuck with me until I was 60 was my Aunt Joyce (married to Dad’s brother). She let me live with her family three different summers in the 1960’s, gently counseling, instructing, and chiding me as needed.

My respect for her grew as I got older, taking on more common characteristics with her: marriage, motherhood, and other adult ups and downs. Aunt Joyce never preached. Instead she coaxed me into new ways of thinking for myself. She shared examples from her own life and was careful to include failures as well as successes. The fact that she would disclose her personal struggles to me always felt like a gift.

Aunt Joyce, 1Aunt Joyce never labeled herself a mentor, and it wasn’t until we’d been “working together” for years that I realized I was her mentoree. She had others, too, and in her later years complete strangers approached her through church contacts, requesting mentoring. She never turned them away and viewed each relationship as a holy privilege.

One of the reasons Aunt Joyce was effective was that she didn’t say, “You should… do this or that.” Instead she’d say, “Here’s something you might want to try,” or “This approach worked for me in similar circumstances.” She made it seem like the two of us were in it together. And if my steady stream of questions and needs drained her, she never let on.

Of course the ultimate mentor is God, and he’s willing to partner with any of us desiring to be his mentorees. As with all good mentors, though, he leaves it up to us to take advantage of it.

Adam and Eve had it made with their daily mentoring sessions with him in the cool of each Eden evening. But despite their Mentor’s flawless advice, they only agreed with 90% of it. The 10% they tossed aside made a radical difference in their quality of life. We can contradict what our mentors tell us, ignore their counsel, or follow their advice and watch our lives change for the better.

Aunt Joyce lived a long, fruitful life and was a valuable mentor for one reason: her advice was always right-on. That’s because it came down to her from the Lord, which then allowed her to give her opinion with confidence.

I’ve tried to follow Aunt Joyce’s example in lots of ways, but the One she most hoped I would emulate was God himself, the ultimate in Mentors.

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4)

Eager Students

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It sounds like ancient history now, but back in 1952 I was enjoying 2nd grade to the max at our local grade school. Each day Mary and I walked across a field to get there and then walked home again for lunch.  My teacher, Mrs. Kludy, was a classic schoolmarm who loved her students but ran a tight ship.

Mrs. KludyI remember the day Mom came to school and explained to Mrs. Kludy and my classmates that I was going to be gone for 2 long weeks. After multiple sore throats, I was scheduled for a tonsillectomy, the preferred treatment at the time.

I loved everything about school, and saying goodbye that day was hard. Not only would I fall behind in my work, but I’d be away from my school chums.

The surgery and early days of recuperation went fine, but I was near tears looking out my bedroom windows watching friends play in the school yard during recess. I longed to be with them, working and playing in our usual routine.

Mom brought comfort in the form of ice cream and Jell-O, but all I wanted was to walk across that field and back into Mrs. Kludy’s room. When I asked Mom if I could go, she said, “Not for another week.”

But I couldn’t wait that long. The next day while Mom was driving Dad to his commuter train, I put on a dress and walked across the field to school, strolling into my room like I’d never been gone.

It felt good to receive the welcome of a room full of 7-year-olds…. until Mrs. Kludy appeared. She walked straight up to me and said, “Margaret, did you check-in with the nurse?”

My heart sank. Both of us knew it was going to be bad news. When the nurse asked to look down my throat, I knew I was on my way home.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were always that enthusiastic about getting into God’s classroom? Opportunities abound with churches on every corner and Bible studies available every day of the week. There are weekend retreats, mission trips, and family camps. We can listen to sermons online, read good books, and attend small groups. And the fellowship is top notch. Yet we often opt out anyway. And sometimes even when we participate, our thoughts are a million miles away.

I suppose the only way to be eager about God’s school is to have a strong want-to. And that probably doesn’t come without first feeling the need. So when we’re confused, depleted, or suffering, we should view those negatives as positive prompts that will motivate us to get back in school.

At 7And thankfully, God won’t ever send us away, even if we’ve just had a tonsillectomy.

 “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” (Psalm 25:4-5)