In choosing a mentor, I probably went in a little different direction than many of you. While a professional mentor would have been helpful, I realized that I need more immediate help in the relational/spiritual department. For this reason, I asked Frances Worell to meet with me. My grandmother mentored her 20ish years ago, and now she is passing some of the wisdom she gained from my grandmother and her life experience on to me.
Our conversation was all over the map. We started out just catching up on life, and she wanted to hear about my decision to leave the Conservatory and switch to Business Economics. Her daughter took a similar path when she was in college, and Frances told me that she and I are very alike.
The majority of the rest of our conversation focused on our stories and how they have affected the rest of our lives to date. We particularly discussed the painful parts of our pasts that have adversely influenced self-perception and confidence in interacting with people. While we came by these insecurities from very different personality types (she is extroverted, while I am most definitely introverted), it struck me as interesting that we have struggled in very similar ways. Obviously, Frances has lived quite a bit longer than I and has learned more about coping with debilitating insecurity. She told me that it's important to practice vulnerability instead of backing away and isolating oneself. While some people are definitely not trustworthy, God did not create people to go through life alone. If we don't share our struggles with at least one person, they simply eat away at us like a festering wound. I am reminded of a verse I learned in middle school, Ecclesiastes 4:12: "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (NLT). By sharing the burden with others, we increase our arsenal of weapons against despair, bitterness, and other manifestations of spiritual darkness.
Hand in hand with this goes with importance of learning to tell our stories through the lens of God's perfect, unfailing goodness. If we truly believe that God is good, and that his work in our lives is always good, then we must believe that there is a redemptive element in every part of stories - particularly the painful parts. When we can see and tell our stories in this way, they are no longer just a series of events that explain how messed up we are. They are living testimonies to the goodness and grace of God. In this vein, Frances gave me an "assignment": walk through my story and identify specific events/periods that were painful, and ask God to show me what good came out of it. I haven't delved into that assignment yet, but I know from past attempts at something similar that opening my eyes to the beauty God has brought from my ashes is incredibly healing.
Our conversation was all over the map. We started out just catching up on life, and she wanted to hear about my decision to leave the Conservatory and switch to Business Economics. Her daughter took a similar path when she was in college, and Frances told me that she and I are very alike.
The majority of the rest of our conversation focused on our stories and how they have affected the rest of our lives to date. We particularly discussed the painful parts of our pasts that have adversely influenced self-perception and confidence in interacting with people. While we came by these insecurities from very different personality types (she is extroverted, while I am most definitely introverted), it struck me as interesting that we have struggled in very similar ways. Obviously, Frances has lived quite a bit longer than I and has learned more about coping with debilitating insecurity. She told me that it's important to practice vulnerability instead of backing away and isolating oneself. While some people are definitely not trustworthy, God did not create people to go through life alone. If we don't share our struggles with at least one person, they simply eat away at us like a festering wound. I am reminded of a verse I learned in middle school, Ecclesiastes 4:12: "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (NLT). By sharing the burden with others, we increase our arsenal of weapons against despair, bitterness, and other manifestations of spiritual darkness.
Hand in hand with this goes with importance of learning to tell our stories through the lens of God's perfect, unfailing goodness. If we truly believe that God is good, and that his work in our lives is always good, then we must believe that there is a redemptive element in every part of stories - particularly the painful parts. When we can see and tell our stories in this way, they are no longer just a series of events that explain how messed up we are. They are living testimonies to the goodness and grace of God. In this vein, Frances gave me an "assignment": walk through my story and identify specific events/periods that were painful, and ask God to show me what good came out of it. I haven't delved into that assignment yet, but I know from past attempts at something similar that opening my eyes to the beauty God has brought from my ashes is incredibly healing.
Hey Mollie. I didn't know you were in the Conservatory before you came to bis/econ! I'll definitely ask you about that soon. I think it's pretty funny that you were assigned homework, though it is also pretty fitting for the topic. I love that you're taking the chance to get guidance that your grandmother gave so long ago, albeit through another. I've struggled with insecurity in my life too. Great post, and good luck on the test tomorrow. God bless!
ReplyDeleteI think something that initially piqued my interest with your blog post was when you talked about how you switched your area of study from the conservatory to business/economics. I thought this was so interesting because those two majors are so different in their tracks that it would be interesting to know what motivated you to make that change. I also appreciated the verse that you shared because although it is not a commonly known verse, I think it shares an important message in that none of us have to stand alone in our battles.
ReplyDeleteThe decision to change majors was definitely an adventure! I had no intention of leaving music when school ended last year, but God, in His infinite wisdom, shut that door. Once I decided not to pursue music any longer, it was a bit chaotic trying to figure out what program to switch to. I ultimately landed on Business Economics because I felt it best matched my strengths and future career dreams, namely working in world of business as missions. Obviously, there's a big difference between studying music and business, and it was a bit of an adjustment. However, God has confirmed the decision again and again.
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