You are always someone’s favorite unfolding story. ~ Ann Patchett
I heard of a mama who was walking with her young daughter. They stopped every few feet to look at a flower … a ladybug … an elm sprout growing through a broken sidewalk … an ant … The little girl delighted in everything.
A woman coming along the path saw what was happening and asked the mother, “Don’t you get tired of stopping and bending down so often?” “Oh, not at all,” Mama said with a smile. “I brought her into this world; the least I can do is let her show it to me.”
That is mentoring. We have the privilege and responsibility of walking friends, colleagues, children through new environments, new situations, new interactions. We invite them to show us and tell us what they’re learning — what’s difficult, what’s grace. We help them make connections with their faith, their work, their lives, their loves. We’re sounding boards and role models, always, and sometimes intentional teachers.
But above all, we are safe space that gives room to breathe when everything might otherwise be overwhelming. And in turn, we are honored to see life through a refreshed lens.
Carol Stillings 