Pouring In & Pouring Out

I woke up this morning dreadfully missing one of my favorite people on the planet. I have been so blessed over my life to have come in contact with some amazing mentors, and one in particular, that has poured so much into my personal life. I really have no idea where I would be if she hadn't been there to mold me, shape me, and challenge me. I had so many mindsets that needed to be broken, so many character flaws that needed to be balanced out, so much passion that needed to be tempered with wisdom. I praise God everyday that He saw fit to give me someone in authority over me that cared for me so much more than was required of them. Someone who carved out countless hours to ask the tough questions, to listen to stories that I'm sure made her want to quit bothering with me, and to model an amazing life and marriage before me. I knew, at the time, that I was lucky to find such a precious tool for His kingdom, but I had no understanding of just how rare of a gift God had given me.

I heard a message not long ago about this topic of mentoring that really made me think. It was about Joshua, Moses, and Caleb. Jude Fouquier, associate pastor at The City Church in Washington, shared that everyone needs a Moses or a Mentor (someone who is pouring into them), everyone needs a Joshua or a mentee, (someone they are pouring into), and everyone needs a Caleb, a best friend. I think that most of us do a great job of finding friends that are somewhat on the same level as far as their walk with Christ, however I also think that we do a great job at shying away from putting ourselves in the other two roles. We are afraid of giving someone the authority over us to be our mentor. We often want the "freedom" to do things when we want and how we want, but we also are afraid of coming up short of the expectations our mentors would surely have for us. These are normal fears but are minuscule compared with the treasures awaiting those who are brave enough to put themselves in this submissive role.

We also shy away from situations in which we could pour out into others. We are too insecure to admit that we have something worthwhile to offer someone else. And even if we do realize the what we have to give, we often hold ourselves back from speaking it out for fear that our heart would be misconstrued for criticism. Now I'm not talking about walking around giving your opinions on everybody's life in your view. I'm talking about prayerfully committing to walk someone through a stage of their life that you have been through yourself.

I feel like it is a major strategy of our great Enemy to keep us from putting ourselves in these vital roles. Refusing to seek out these people in our lives simply separates us from the body of Christ in a way that leaves us feeling alone in our battles. Ladies, I know it seems like our plates are full before we even start thinking about embarking on relationships like these, but I urge you, those that mean the most to you would greatly benefit from the personal growth that you will experience on both sides of the spectrum.

If you don't even know where to start to find relationships like these, start with prayer. God is faithful above all else. Pray that He will open your eyes to the people around you that you need to get to know a little better so that He can start to develop one of these dynamics. A simple check to identify your mentor is to think about what struggles you are currently walking through that you would like to overcome, or ministry areas you think God has put on your heart to pursue, then think about people that you know that have been through your struggle or is someone you look up to in the ministry you identified. And likewise, to narrow down someone you could pour into, identify the things in your life that you have been through, (and come out of!) or would like to go deeper in a specific interest you are already involved in. As you start to pursue God about these relationships, He will start to give you an unexplainable heart for those that you are meant to share with.

I can't wait to see how this kind of true discipleship can empower us to become the daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, friends, grandmothers, healers, leaders, teachers, and most importantly Christ-followers that we were meant to become! Be brave, Ladies! Ask God to show you who He has placed in your lives for such a time as this!

~Laura