regardless, this ministry is exists for the so(u)le reason of connecting women of less life experience with those a little more seasoned in life. 1 word: mentorship. i've never intentionally had a mentor before. i am thankful for those that have intentionally mentored or poured into my life in one way or another; but one single person that i've intentionally met with to sit with and learn under, i had not.
so when i looked over the list last week after church, i saw Marti's name and just knew that is who the Lord would have me meet with. all i knew was that she and her husband are the cutest little couple i had recognized at our weekly church Bible studies, and that they served as part-time missionaries to Russia. so when she got back with me and we set a time to meet at Panera this weekend, i was ecstatic!
as i parked my car, i prayed that the Lord would use her to pour into me, and would give me a teachable heart and allow me to just sit under her wisdom and experience and soak. it. up.
within 5 minutes, i was holding back the tears of joy that welled in my eyes. every word she spoke was as if she was writing a letter to her 27-year-old self, that was sitting right in front of her. i felt as if every word she spoke was coming from the 73-year-old me, and i sat as if a sponge had been submersed to soak up every ounce of the the liquid wisdom that she was drenched in. my heart bubbled with joy; her words rang with truth and experience.
she used to teach kindergarten for 9 years, and then was an administrator for 30, before the Lord called her and her husband into missions in Russia from Southern California. now, she serves as a missions coach, and still visits Russia once a year as grand-parents to the church that they helped parent into existence. i had no idea about her vast experience in missions, or education for that matter, but the Lord had every detail worked out in this. we chuckled as we thought about how He knew my heart for the nations, and her involvement in helping to send missionaries out.
i got to share with her my story of how i wound up in nashville, how the Lord led me to haiti, and how He wrecked my heart there forever. she talked about her marriage of 53 years, and i could not help but smile as she told me the sweetest stories from the beginnings of their relationship. i sat there staring at her face, and seeing nothing but the love of jesus pour from her eyes and mouth and heart. this is the closest i will ever come on earth to what it must've felt like for mary to sit at the feet of jesus as martha begged jesus to have her get up and help out with the housework. mary sat and listened and just sought wisdom through the stories he must've told. and that's just what i did. i didn't want to leave. i wanted to hear more about how God has worked in her life; about how He lead her in submission in her marriage; as He spoke to them later in life about becoming missionaries.
God is so good and reminded me as i sat there, enthralled by the wisdom in which she spoke, that He knows our every need. He knows each of our hearts, and He knows exactly what needs to be poured into them. and in that corner booth at Panera, He filled my cup past the brim. my cup runneth over, and it spilled all the way to the parking lot, after we planned out next meeting. God, i am so excited for what you are doing in my life, in my church, in Nashville. and i am thankful for the most inconspicuous people you've placed here, intentionally, for me. Lord, you are so good to me.
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