Mentoring

A woman at church called me today with that desperate sound in her voice.  Could I come over today and help her figure some things out that weren't working with her homeschool?  In twelve years of homeschooling I can't tell you how many times I have done this.  I must admit though I always leave feeling like I haven't really been much help.  Oh, I go over curriculum and offer suggestions and encourage them that some of that stuff can be dropped out and yes it is ok to skip this or that and it is ok to be at different levels in different subjects.  But in the end there simply is no substitute for prayer and time.  How do you tell a struggling mom to drop to her knees and plead with the Lord for guidance?  It just doesn't feel immediate enough.  How do you tell her that it takes time to overcome your own preconceived notions of what school looks like?  Note that I didn't say education.  How do you tell someone that is just starting out that in twelve years you too will see things so differently than you do today?  It is constantly intriguing to me that God created us in such a way that I cannot put what is in my mind and heart into someone else's mind and heart.  They must learn for themselves.  So tonight for me mentoring is not about a transference of knowledge, but about  lifting the hands that hang down and strengthening the feeble knees.  And I am happy to tell other moms that things get better, you get better at judging what is really important and what can be let go, you get better at understanding your children, you get better at listening to the Lord and following His guidance, you get better at making learning a lifestyle and not a curriculum choice.  So tonight as I head to bed I will remember her in my prayers and hope that the Lord through His grace strengthens her as He does for me.