Spread the love

As the weather warms and growing seasons take root, are you planting anything? If you want plump, juicy tomatoes, now is the time to plant. If you want bunches of cilantro for guacamole, now is the time to sprinkle seeds. If you want to have a mom with her ear turned to the Lord, now is the time to plant a mentee and watch her grow.

While soil is soft and sunshine frequent, lovers of all things veggie carefully dig and plant and water. Summer is the perfect time to nurture a mentoring relationship that will take root, sprout new patterns, and bear fruit. If you long to be that mentee whose life is the rich soil that will host a harvest, this could be your summer!

The Mom Initiative team has a heart for mentoring. When we say we’re “moms on a mission to mentor other moms,” we really are! We believe mentoring must be personal, but many young moms and longing for a mentor to “discover them” and start to work their soil. They would love to be mentored by a loving, wise, imperfect, Jesus-trusting, encouraging, dependable mentor. So how to you become the mentee? How do you go from hoping for influence to harvest in your life?

Months ago my friend Karen offered a group for young moms based on Jill Savage’s book Professionalizing Motherhood. It’s been about 25 years since she juggled sippy cups and wrangled two boy toddlers, but her heart has not forgotten the challenges young moms feel. She’s lovingly led groups for moms using books like Shepherding a Child’s Heart, 5 Conversations to Have with Your Son, and Love and Respect. This spring, though she never had daughters of her own, Karen planned for “her girls” to get together and make prayer journals to help in their mothering. They’re looking forward to getting together this summer to keep the fellowship going … and do some “on site” intervention with things like laundry and meal planning. She has planted truth and encouragement into the lives of her mentees, and she’s watching them grow.

To find a mentor

Pray and tell the Lord how much you long to learn from and be encouraged by a mentor. Ask your Father, girl!
Go to where the mentors are! “Karen’s girls” found her at a Bible study group. Where do you find godly women?
Talk to older women. If you only talk to moms in the “diaper crowd,” you’ll find a friend, but not a mentor. Talk to the “graying hairs.”
Open up, but don’t be self-centered. Let her get to know you, and get to know her.
Invite her in to your life.

Some women honestly feel like they have few options. The Mom Team understands that, so that’s one reason we’re here. Our dream is to be able to connect women longing to have seeds sown in their lives with women eager to plant. Do you know we have an ASK MOM button so you can schedule a chat with one of our mentoring team?

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:17-18

Once you find someone who lives by God’s truth, loves moms, and sows peace, it’s time to ask questions!

Ask questions to take you from hoping to harvesting

Hey, would you come have lunch with me one day and give me some tips for how you’d organize my pantry? It needs help!
I can’t get a grip on my freezer; would you like to come over for coffee and tell me how you manage yours?
Would you come picnic with me and the kids, tell me what you see, and give me some ideas for what I could do to stop the whining?
Would you have time to meet me at the Chick-fil-A play land a few times this summer and keep me accountable for my devos?
Is there a household project I could help you with? I’d love to pick your brain about discipline while we clean.
Would you be willing to read a book with me this summer, so we could meet and chat about it and pray together?

If you want to reap a harvest as a mom, now is a great time to plant.

If you’ve got seeds in your hand, plant a mentee and watch her grow!

If you’re longing to be fruitful, pray .. go .. talk .. open up .. invite!

This could be your summer to grow!

Author
Recent Posts

Julie Sanders

Julie Sanders and her husband just relocated from the land of sweet tea to the Inland Northwest. The mom of two college students, Julie loves mentoring women around the world, bringing justice to the vulnerable, and teaching God’s truths for life. Julie was blessed when seasoned moms walked the marriage and motherhood journey with her and is grateful “grace abounded much more” (Rom. 5:20) than her failures. She is passionate about fighting human trafficking and is the author of Expectant: 40 Devotions for New and Expectant Moms. Join Julie at Come Have a Peace, on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, and don't miss Marriage Mondays. She invites you to contact her about speaking at your women's event or mommy meeting. www.juliesanders.org