Me? A Mentor?

I am just overflowing with emotions.  I don't know if it is the change of seasons, the state of the world or the mid-40's - but I am overly affected and emotional about the events going on around me.  

Mentoring has always been something that is so heavy on my heart that it pains me to see opportunities lost and the pain and silent suffering of those who needed that interaction in their life.

A young man whom I knew committed suicide in our community.  This is becoming too common and is not something that is talked about enough.  And that just makes me mad!  I am sorry for this family and their loss, and that this is the choice that he made, as well as the other families in the community who have lost a loved one this way.  But we need to get our heads out of the sand and see that this is becoming a problem, and we need to help our youth.  Why are they even considering this as an option?

As I look at this trend in my community, I wonder who the people are that are involved in their lives, who comes across their path that could make a difference?  When given that nudge in our spirit to say a word of encouragement, do we choose to make the effort, or do we continue on with our busy schedules?

As I am being consciously aware of my responsibility as outlined in Titus 2, I am noticing more opportunities crossing my path daily!  It makes me wonder how many opportunities I may have missed.  As I looked at the picture of this young boy, the thought kept running through my head, "What are we as the “church” doing?”  I do not mean that big building on the corner, I mean those of us who are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, doing in our daily lives? 

Scripture tells us to become more Christ-like.  I heard an interesting description from Matt Chandler from The Village Church as I was listening to a podcast.  He was talking about when Jesus was instructing his disciples to go and make disciples.  The word “go” in the context is passive.  It means as you go about your day-to-day, make disciples.

I see it the same with mentoring, as you go about your day, be an example of Jesus Christ.  The church doesn’t need another program; we, as followers of Jesus, need to actively live our lives for the greater good.

I see so much hurt in the lives of teen girls today.  I often ask myself what I am doing about it.  Am I living up to what God has instructed me in Titus 2?  Do the young women today aspire to be women of God?  Why or why not?

I am asking myself a lot of questions that are burning on my mind these days - What I have been finding in my own life is that I am too busy.  I busy myself doing things with my family, with friends, work, etc.  But I leave little to no room for opportunities to be a positive example in the life of someone that God has placed before me.

To fulfill our calling in Titus, we all need to “make” the time and be open to any opportunity that presents itself in front of us.  The word mentoring does not always mean taking someone out for coffee once a week.  A new term that is being used is “lifestyle mentoring,” which is more of what I am thinking about.  That we be open to sharing our lives with those that enter our path as we go about our day-to-day.

Take a few minutes today to read through Titus 2, and may you start to become aware of whatever opportunity may cross your path.