The Mentor

My first spiritual mentor told me, "There will come a time when I could no longer mentor you." The first time I heard it, I prayed and cried with my inability to imagine continuing with my spiritual walk without my mentor. It took me a while before understanding what my mentor told me until 3 years passed and I'm being mentored by a lot of people.

The word "mentor" is synonymous with a teacher, a counselor and a friend. When I was still in my high school days a teacher once told our class that we cannot control our emotions but we can control the actions out from our emotions. Nine years have passed but that lesson is still well-kept in my heart. If only I could talk to that teacher again and thank her on how she had mentored me.

So now my perception about mentorship is broadened. I realized that the relationship between a mentor and a mentee could be official or unofficial, could be spoken or unspoken, and it could be personal or on-line. I even consider Phillip Yancey, a book author whom I haven't spoken or met personally as my mentor on understanding God's grace.

I'm inspired to write about my thoughts on mentorship today because  I had a meaningful talk with a wonderful woman last day. We don't talk regularly but when we do, miracles happen. At this point of my life, I'm seeking deeper on how to become a woman whose life reflects the glory of God, a woman who honors her family, a woman who supports her partner, a woman who use her abilities on making this world a better place, a woman who accepts her weaknesses but perseveres to use her strengths, a woman who is simple but captivating.

We talked, we laughed, we cried, we reflected, we rejoiced, and we prayed. She mentors me in a lot of ways. And I'm just savoring these moments for a time may come that we both have to take different directions and she will mentor different people, and I'll be mentored by different people as well. With that thought, I don't get sad anymore. For that's also a reality, people come, people go. All we could do is to give our best while we are with whoever are with us right now.

As of now, I want to continue the chain.

"God, may you lead me to people whom I could mentor, that these people mentor others too."