Mentoring and My Faith Walk
By Marilyn Kettering Badger
September 12, 2016
When I think back over my 73 nearly 74 years I can say that over the years, God directed me to numerous mentors for my life. I say it that way because any person who touches our lives in some way, can be that person called a mentor, if we evaluate what they are offering (through God’s directions) to us. As I taught school I also became a mentor to children. Children can be mentors to adults. So what I am really saying is that we need to be in tune with the messages being sent by God to us at all times. Alert! Aware! Listening! Watching! What is God saying to us through other people.
The greatest mentoring we can get is through Bible reading, prayer, and study. But we all know that, don’t we? The questions then is: Do we pay attention to it? Because the lives of people around us provide clues to the way to live and also the ways NOT to live.
Most of my faith walk mentoring came through my parents. Both my Father and Mother worked hard to lead their six children to the “seat of the Trinity: God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit as our guide”. Before doing this, they themselves had to have a right relationship with the Trinity. Not that they were perfect because none of us humans are perfect – only one human has been perfect, and that would be Jesus who came to Earth as a human. But we can try by following His example!!!
Our parents led us in prayer at every meal. We had family worship, Bible reading, and prayers in the morning after barn chores at breakfast. Everyone was present for meals and prayers for the day. We finished the day with prayer at bedtime. We prayed for “travel mercies”. We prayed for safety as we worked on the farm around the dangerous equipment. That didn’t keep us from accidents but we knew God and our family was with us through those incidents and we supported each other. We kneeled in prayer, we sat in prayer, we stood in prayer and sometimes we were lying down in prayer. We communicated with God and He, in turn, kept in touch with us!! We learned to pray as children and were encouraged to continue later as youth and adults. Our parents and family also continued to pray with us and for us. As members of our family entered fields of Christian service, we prayed for their safety in their endeavors and careers. Another skill learned by us kids was that if the church was open for something, we should be there!
At home, we were reminded of scripture to help us keep track of our behavior. Our parents led us with love and especially with forgiveness. Personally, I believe the forgiveness factor is one of the most important elements of love. Without forgiveness we cannot love others or have peace within ourselves. We need to forgive others and to ask for forgiveness for our mistakes. We were taught that at home.
Let that person you feel connected with as a mentor know what they mean to you and usually that will be a blessing to you also as well as to them. It helps us all to be connected when we know that we are appreciated and are a guide for others. One of my students told me once, “Mrs. B, I want to be like you when I grow up! What a blessing to me. But even more I appreciated the student all the more for their sharing that little thought from the sixth grade mind. Deep thoughts for young people.
God puts many people out there for His purposes. Choose the “best of the crop” to be your role models! Look around for what others are doing for Christian growth – search for the best. Growth of God’s kingdom here on earth is a goal that is getting harder to reach. GOD BLESS YOU.
Dear Lord, I pray for the person reading this that he/she may know your blessing in their lives. Amen.
