ARE YOU IN A MENTORING RELATIONSHIP? Plus, What We Learn About Mentoring From a Zinnia
WE MENTOR FROM WHAT WE LEARN AT THE FEET OF JESUS. AND WE CAN EVEN LEARN FROM BEING A ZINNIA. My little sister, Lori, calls herself a Zinnia. I love a pretty Zinnia, and I love her even more. Why the name? Lori's a Zinnia because she's moved. A lot. …
WE MENTOR FROM WHAT WE LEARN AT THE FEET OF JESUS. AND WE CAN EVEN LEARN FROM BEING A ZINNIA.
My little sister, Lori, calls herself a Zinnia. I love a pretty Zinnia, and I love her even more. Why the name?
Lori's a Zinnia because she's moved. A lot. She's had to start over, more than she'd like. And she always ends up blooming.
I'm not much of a plant person but I do know the difference between an annual and a perennial. I go for the latter because I like it when the flowers return the next year without much effort from myself.
A Zinnia is an annual flower vs. a perennial. An annual doesn't last more than one season. A big splash of color, then it's gone. You want more Zinnias, you have to plant them again the next year.
Lori would set up her home, and then on she would go again, to set up another. Going where life and God took her. When she sold Pampered Chef, she called her business: "Fourteen Kitchens." She's lived in fourteen kitchens. That's a lot of moving.
Sounds challenging, but Lori's got a great perspective that we can all learn from, perennial or not. I must be a perennial. I've been in my same kitchen, although changed quite a bit, for the last 34 years or so.
AS A SELF-PROCLAIMED ZINNIA, LORI LEARNED TO EMBRACE HER SITUATION AND USE IT FOR GOOD. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MENTORING?
Everyone goes through challenging circumstances, changes we didn't bank on. Our health, our finances, our families—even moves we'd not anticipated nor wanted.
When that happens to me, I may go through a process of, "Oh, no!" and "Why this, Lord?" and then I remember I belong to Jesus and He's got it and me all in hand.
Funny, then, how God brings along someone who is still in the "Oh, no!" and "Why this, Lord?" process, and I get to pass along that peace and truth and confidence that God's just given me. That's mentoring. Passing along when God gives you.
A great mentor embraces her situation and uses it for good.
A great mentor models what they teach.
Lori's a great mentor.
FOURTEEN KITCHENS
She called me from Wisconsin - or was it Illinois? She called me from one of fourteen kitchens one day and said these wise words. Wise words on community and purpose from my sister who makes a big splash of color wherever she lands:
"In my situation of not feeling permanent, I often hesitate to get too involved in people's lives because I don't know how long I will be here and I can't see the project through to the end, so to speak. Lately, I have been thinking that is just Satan's way of tying my hands. You know the saying, 'Bloom where you are planted.'
"I decided I don't want to just bloom, I want to make and cast seeds! I pondered that with my gardener's brain and decided that I guess I am an 'annual' rather than a 'perennial.' Your situation of "staying-put-ted-ness" makes you the latter. Perennials come back year after year and they are in it for the long haul, for the most part. Certain perennials often reproduce abundantly, even if they may take a while to get established. They say that it takes at least four years for a perennial bed to become established....sigh...as much as I would like that, I don't seem to be a perennial. (Not that it stops me from planting them every chance I get!)
"I, on the other hand, seem to be an annual. Annuals have a short and fast lifespan. They know they are only here for a season so they make a big splash of color for the year, making seeds as quickly as they can and reseeding madly. When you deadhead them they just keep blooming and making those seeds until the frost stops them short. They serve A WONDERFUL PURPOSE in a garden.
What would we do without Marigolds and Zinnias and Bachelor Buttons and Alyssum?
"Just because they are here for a short time doesn't mean they don't do what they were called to do.
"Hmmm, after much thought (maybe 10 seconds) I decided I like the idea of being a Zinnia. Marigolds are a close second, but I just love the vibrant colors of Zinnias. So, that is what I am, and it is amazing how encouraging that whole thought process was for me."
Great words from a Zinnia. Now tell me, sister - how does it feel to get deadheaded?
Love,
A Perennial in San Luis Obispo.
PS I don't want Satan tying my hands and telling me how to live. Pray this prayer with me:
Lord, I don't like all this change. But I want to cast seeds and reap rewards of friendship, truth and love. Help me not get too settled where I like being settled. May I surrender to any move for Your sake and for Your plan. Thank you for the beauty of Zinnias! Thank You and Amen.
A few more thoughts on mentoring. As a follower of Jesus (what a joy and privilege!) we get to pass on whatever we are learning at the feet of Jesus. I guess that means we are always sitting at his feet.
For how to get started in sharing your wisdom with another and some practical help to demystify mentoring, buy this small book. A small book for a big purpose: we are blessed to be a blessing. That's all.
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