Last week I had a full circle moment. A rare set of circumstances lined up in such a way that I knew God was teaching me something specific. It was too perfect to be a coincidence.
Several years ago I was being mentored by someone who invested in me and my writing career in a way that still amazes me when I think about it.
This woman, a seasoned veteran when it came to writing and ministry, was a consistent voice of truth in my life during a season in my life where I was being bombarded with success and it was easy to lose my way. She reminded me to seek the Lord for myself instead of allowing others to tell me what He wanted me to do.
I treasured my relationship with her. She always popped into my life with a timely word at the right time. But time and distance eventually had their way in our relationship and a woman who had once been an active force in my life slowly became a faint whisper and a pleasant memory.
For years I was sad about it. I missed my friend and her influence in my life. But, for one reason or another, I never called or emailed. Instead I let the drifting grow worse.
Last week, God brought my former mentor back into my life. For over two hours I sat on the phone and listened as she poured wisdom into my life in abundance. She quoted verses and offered insight from her own experiences that answered questions I’d been wrestling with. Without being bossy, she mapped out a course for me and pointed me in the right direction and then happily sent me on my way.
Our conversation was, as she put it, like drinking from a deep well. I hung up the phone refreshed and grateful. It was as if there had never been a season of separation.
A few days later, I received a Facebook message from a girl I mentored six or seven years ago. We met weekly for an entire year. I walked her through her first heartbreak, helped her pick a college, taught her how to have a quiet time, saw her off to her senior prom and attended her graduation party.
During a pivotal season in her life I invested in her on a consistent basis. Then, one day, she graduated and moved away. Her life went on and so did mine. Time created space and eventually we lost touch. It had been years since we’d spoken. But I still thought of her often.
She emailed me to tell me she’s mentoring high school girls now. Recently she found herself wondering if what she’s doing matters. Did these girls notice her investment? Was it changing them or shaping them in some way.
I’ll let you read part of what she wrote:
“I laugh about how I don’t necessarily get much feedback from the girls and I’m always wondering if they actually are benefiting from the relationship. Of course I am biased when I look back at myself because at first glance I think I must have always told you how much I appreciated having you in my life…but then I remember my personality then and how I probably didn’t say much at all. Therefore, I wanted to write you simply to say thank you.”
As I read her words I cried. In two days time God brought two very different women back into my life. One mentored me. I mentored the other. My life was testifying to the fruit God was bearing in the first woman’s life. The second girl’s life was evidence of some of the fruit God was bearing in mine.
It left me thinking about multiplication of ministry. Someone invested in me and I turned around and invested in someone else and now she is investing her own group of girls. It had come full circle.
Life isn’t always about who we keep in touch with. Sometimes it’s about who we touch along the way.
Whose life are you investing in? Who is investing in you? How has a mentoring relationship impacted you in some way?
I would love to hear your story.
