“Are you my mother” the baby bird asks different animals from page to page. I listened to my son read the Dr. Seuss book aloud, with its pages full of childhood wonder. Every stage of my life I have had something to look forward to in the next stage. With wonder, I looked forward to becoming a cheerleader, a high school student, my first boyfriend, going away to college, doing my part to help the world, and ultimately getting married and becoming a mommy. Similar to the baby bird, I pursued role models as if to say, “Are you my mentor?”
With wonder, I watched the lives of godly men and women and I valued their input in my life. I became a note-taker. Literally taking notes in the blank pages of my bible, journals and scrapbooks, I wrote about the way they loved their spouses, the way they treated their children, and the way they loved Jesus with their lives.
I took mental notes, too. Mental notes about parenting, discipline, faithful husbands, and godly moms. I mentally jotted how they shared conversation around the table, required integrity in their ministry, and balanced their lives. Thanks to the deliberate teaching of those who purposed to build into me, as well as the teaching I “caught” from observing these godly lives, these notes have paid off through the seasons of my life.
I can’t help but lament the lack of notes I have taken for this mid-life season. I have so many questions about the empty nest, becoming a mother-in law, and a grandmother. Are you my mentor?
My sons have not yet entered the dating phase of life, but I’ve been searching for a role model who can pass on her wisdom about being a great mother-in-law. I’ve been on the look-out for years. I have a few mental notes about “how not to be a mother-in-law”, but I’m still looking for the “how-to”.
Do I have more to look forward to in my senior years than the empty nest, osteoporosis and dentures? Please show me!
Are you my mentor?
Calling all emotionally healthy and godly women! There is a generation who wants to learn from you! We don’t expect perfection and scholarly advice; we want to learn from your mistakes, your heartaches, your trials. Are you willing to let us in on your great tools for adjusting to a changing family life? Will you tell stories about how you try to strike a healthy balance with your adult children? Will you tell us how you feel and how you wrestle with your changing roles?
If you are still trying to figure it all out, that’s okay. We want to hear that, too.
If you have a wonderful “mid-life” mentor, tell us some stories!
BONNIE CHRISTENSEN
