Do you need a safe place to talk about life?
Oh, friend, I know I do. I treasure having a Mentor in my life that keeps me accountable and listens to my heart’s cry. I’m also deeply passionate about mentoring others. Each woman I mentor has a unique purpose and plan for her life from God and a personal God story as she grows in her faith walk.
She may say, “I’m really looking for a safe place to be me. I need a safe place to talk out what I’m thinking and feeling. I feel like there’s so much spinning around in my head.” Eventually, she shares her needs and prayer requests for a mentor.
“I’ve been praying for God to connect me with a woman to listen, pray with me, and help me seek out God’s will. I need to talk things out loud and be accountable with a safe person.”
[easy-tweet tweet=”“Real communication happens when people feel safe.” Ken Blanchard ” user=”@JaymeHull” hashtags=”#FTFMentoring”]You and I know there are many secret issues women hide in normal public conversation. Let’s look at a group of statements Christian women share as their everyday concerns:
- I’m the only Christian at my work and everyone waiting for me to mess up.
- I’m the only Christian in my group who doesn’t participate in ___________…
- I’m not proud of my wild past but now I want to change. Saying “no” is hard.
- I’m so alone. I’m stuck in a dark pit of loneliness.
- My family at home has fallen apart and I feel so abandoned.
- I’ve got to keep my high GPA or high sales numbers at work and I’m so stressed out.
- Why can’t I find a date? What’s wrong with me?
- This marriage thing is difficult and overwhelming. What do I do?
- I’m in such a mess financially, physically and spiritually. How do I recover?
Many women write emails to me seeking help and encouragement. Most of them say, “Jayme, I need a mentor to help me stay on the right track with Christ. I’m praying for a godly woman to sit down with me and talk and do life with me.”
Why? Why does this generation long for the older generation to speak life into their lives?
- The daily grind and temptations are real and never let up. They need support.
- They have watched so many other Christians fall and don’t want to just survive.
- They desire to have an authentic relationship with Christ but need encouraged.
- They refuse to live life wearing a religious mask and hope victory in Christ is real.
- No one has ever dropped their busy schedule to spend face to face time with them.
- They know the truth but need help learning how to apply it to their daily lives.
Today is a new day! Here is the good news!
“But I have hope when I think of this: The Lord’s love never ends.
His mercies never stop.
They are new every morning. Lord, your loyalty is great.”
Lamentations 3:21-23
Right now, you can begin to pray for God to connect you with a godly mentoring relationship and start the process by being aware of the people around you at your church, community, and workplace or where you volunteer.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Mentoring isn’t a formula or a checklist. It’s a relationship.” user=”@JaymeHull” hashtags=”#FTFMentoring “]
Let’s begin with 3 ideas on the What and How To encourage someone who knows they need accountability and desires to have a Mentoring Relationship:
- Share your own God story. Be authentic. No one is perfect. When you share your story of brokenness or failures you are being real and dropping your religious mask. Being a safe and authentic mentor with the Millennial will bless the heart and soul of the younger generation.
- Apply a Biblical story or passage that relates to the conversation. You may recall a Bible story or passage that is applicable to the situation or you may need to search through the concordance. It will not matter either way. As you are led by the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word to the conversation, both of you will grow and learn together.
- Pause and Pray. There is nothing more powerful than to hear someone pray your name and lift you up to the throne of God. Pausing and Praying over our younger generation by name with specifics and sincerity touches their hearts, plants seeds of hope and places hope in the place of despair.
Are you accountable to someone in a mentoring relationship? What is holding you back?
You actuaⅼly make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter tߋ
be actually something that I think I would nevеr understand.
It seemѕ too complicated and extremᥱly broad for me.
I am looking forward for your neхt poѕt, I wilⅼ try to
get tһeе hang of it!
Thanks so much for your honest and real comment. I’m so glad you are here and reading. Read on! I want to encourage you. Mentoring has changed my life and I know it can change yours too!