The Shelter of a Mentor

A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, 

than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you. ~Bob Proctor

I'm sharing this paper Emily wrote for one of her classes.  Mentoring is a beautiful and Biblical way to shelter. Teach the older women to live in a way that is appropriate for someone serving the Lord...These older women must train the younger women...to live wisely and be pure. Titus 2:3-5

Valentine's Dinner 2012

“None of these things move me. What’s that to thee? Follow thou Me. Others can. I cannot. None of these things move me.” These are the words so dear to the heart of Janet Thompson; a wonderful woman of faith. Her eyes of strength and determination have shone with joy, twinkled with excitement, narrowed in concentration, and been filled with countless tears of sorrow. Janet’s jet black hair, neatly styled in its elegant French twist, her endless energy, and determination to love unconditionally argue with the fact she has lived through seventy-nine years worth of stories.

Focusing on God since the age of seventeen, she has looked to Him for support in each triumph or trial she has faced. Janet’s important message arrived in a package in the form of love and respect. “Love and respect.” Janet declares matter of factly. “We forget that. If we respect one another, we will love one another.” Living with Janet for three months, I quickly found that love and respect are exactly what this godly woman demonstrated with each breath of her life.

Janet Thompson, my boss, my friend, unknowingly slipped into the additional role of my mentor. As I spent the summer months in her home, I watched her encounter people in less than desirable situations. I never saw her angry. I never saw her focus on a problem for longer than it took to deal with. Any time something weighed heavily on her mind, I heard the words, “None of these things move me. What’s that to thee? Follow thou Me. Others can. I cannot. None of these things move me,” flow from her mouth. Janet realized the importance of loving unconditionally, even when it was “inconvenient”. Watching Janet live her theme of love and respect has become one of my biggest blessings.

Janet has developed a method for respecting those whom she may struggle to understand. “Things I don’t understand, I don’t even try to understand. I just throw my mystery bag over my shoulder.” Janet always informs me that wondering about things and people that you may not understand only results in pain and grief. You will never fully understand everyone, and speculating only lowers your opinion or them.

Jonathan and Emily

Janet wisely admonished: “Throw it in your ‘mystery bag’.” The “mystery bag” is a tool she used when illustrating respect. An imaginary object, of course, but a very present step in learning to love as Christ loved. When circumstances arose that she had no control over, she placed them in her mystery bag. When she heard gossip disguised as information, she took that information, and placed it in her mystery bag. When situations in my own life confused me, and when I simply couldn't understand someone’s actions, Janet told me, “Emily, put it in your mystery bag.” Janet’s “mystery bag” has become a staple in my accessory collection, and now I can truly repeat the lines: “None of these things move me. What’s that to thee? Follow thou Me. Others can. I cannot. None of these things move me.”

Janet attended Marion College, even when the circumstances around her resisted this decision. Janet knew she must follow God’s calling no matter what the repercussions would turn out to be. She held herself to the high standards she felt God was directing her to, while others on campus were attaining to different standards. These standards of dress and conduct may have seemed unimportant or odd to the world, yet she remained true to the values she believed were important for her. As she reflected on these times the words arose, “…Others can, I cannot. None of these things move me.”

These words have graced the pages of Janet’s stories for years. God has blessed her ministry far above what she could have imagined because of her willingness to heed to the words, “What’s that to thee? Follow thou Me.” Twenty years ago, after retiring from 34 years of teaching, Janet and her husband Duane answered the call to open a daycare in Indianapolis, Indiana. They began this journey during the month of September with two large buildings which could occupy 170 children.

Beginning with just twenty-five children, Janet and her mother-in-law sought the Lord. They asked God to send the daycare seventy-five children by February of the next year. Duane and Janet continued serving God and following His will, and on the second day of February He sent them their seventy-fifth child. Twenty years later, Janet is still respecting and loving each child and parent that walks through her door and God has blessed her for it. Today the daycare is thriving, and is a wonderful example of God’s gracious care.

May 6, 2009 marks the day Janet’s life turned upside down. Her college sweetheart, Duane passed away suddenly. A heartbroken Janet was forced to learn a way of life that seemed unimaginable. Tears of sorrow and pain were her constant companions, her tireless energy depleted, and for a moment in time she was at a loss for where to turn. During a time in Janet’s life where she certainly would have had excuse to shut the world out, she consistently remained that same loving, respectful woman of God. As Janet reflected on the devastating two and a half years without her husband by her side, her eyes shown with praise—even through her hurting—for her Savior. She recalled time after time He was faithful to supply her needs. She clung to the promise in Psalm 68:5, that God will be “protector of the widows.”

Woman to Woman:
Preparing Yourself to Mentor  

Today Janet continues to arise at five o’clock in the morning and travel thirty minutes to run the daycare. She continues to be a living example of the love and respect God longs for us to share, and I continue to be blessed by her life. Her life is a testimony of how beautiful of a person you become when you heed to God’s call to “Follow thou Me.” I will never forget her lesson that one of the most important parts of following the Savior is to love and respect all whom He has created.  Janet has illustrated through her triumphs as well as her trials the truth of Acts 20:24, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”  


Edited to add:  Kara from Changing Streams just finished a mentoring study at her church.  I'm sure she'd be willing to answer questions that you have. They used Mentoring Matters:

Mentoring Matters is an eight-week women's ministry study designed to encourage and train ladies in their high calling, which is to honor God’s Word in their hearts and homes. This small group study is based upon the principles laid out in Titus 2, where the older women in the body of Christ are instructed to promote and model by example the kind of living that reflects God’s presence in the home. Participants complete a short homework lesson each week, and then meet to share their answers with a group of no more than six other ladies. Women will grow in their understanding of these biblical truths and will also make new friends, enjoying the fellowship of other Christian women. Topics include: Honoring God’s Word, Loving your husband, Loving your children, Keepers of the home (cooking, housecleaning, laundry, etc), Stewardship (resources, time, energy, own health) and Inner person of the heart (attributes of godly woman).

                         

Linked to:

Soli Deo Gloria

Thoughtful Thursday

Brag on God

Reflections of His Grace