You Never Know When Someone Needs You
Being a Mentor: Why It's Important
Everyone needs someone to talk to and look up to. I never thought I would always be the type to give advice and listen. As you know, I am always on the GO, but indeed, God always stops me in my tracks & when He does, there's some kind of message.
My neighbor, Tiffany is 14 years old with a 9 year old sister, and yesterday they came over to visit. Now mind you, I gave Tiffany my number because I had a bag filled with some of my favorite clothes to give her.
I told her,
"When I text you, come over & get them."
It took me a couple of days to get the clothes together, but God kept reminding me. Daily it would creep up my to-do list. So on her own, she came over with her sister to "play with Caleb," my son.
As they played, Tiffany decided she would hang around in my room while I cleaned and put away the weekend laundry. At the moment, I wasn't dressed, and felt as though I didn't have any privacy. Then, God reminded me,
"Remember the desires of your heart?"
I didn't understand that for a second. Then it hit me. I am a mentor, just as much as I am anything else. Young girls like her are my passion. The only thing I didn't see at the time was how the whole situation was delivered to me. My selfish thoughts transitioned into obedience at the drop of a dime. I began pulling out the clothes for her, talking to her about school and other things. This girl is the big sister to a 9 year old girl, and she has no one to talk to. From what I understand, they are living with their father and I never heard any stories or comments about a mother in the household.
So at this point I'm thinking, "REALLY, Brittney? For Real?" I felt selfish. She is reaching out for a mentor, and I was chosen.
"Come outside with us Tiffany!", said her 9 year old sister.
"No, I'm hanging out with Brittney!", replied Tiffany.
Though we weren't doing much of anything, she simply wanted to be in the presence of someone she can admire and look up to. Slowly bringing up conversations and questions about make-up and we haven't even got into the details about boys yet, but I feel it coming.
Moral of this story is, you never know when someone needs you. The transition that Tiffany is going through is one we've all experienced. Now that I am on the other side, I mentally switch positions, I am the big sister to a 14 year old girl who isn't physically related to me but needs my time, conversation and so much more than I can imagine. But the only thing I can do is be ready.
A true lesson of selflessness.
