Passing the Torch

I found it interesting that Jayme Hull shares in her book "Face to Face" how we can be involved in mentoring without even knowing it.  As I look back over my life, I can say that I have had many women in my life that were mentoring me to be something more than I was.  

One woman that had a huge impact on my life was my husband’s grandma, Rachel. 

She was the most loving woman I had ever met.  She took me in and treated me as if I were her own granddaughter.  She taught me how to be a woman, a wife, and a mother by living out those roles before me.  I was a young girl in love with her grandson and I soon fell in love with her.  We shared lots of laughs and a few tears.  She taught me how to cook and sew.  She gave me unconditional love.  She was my role model for “pulling up your boot straps and getting things done.”  She and I were best friends for the last 12 years of her life.

She became very sick in 2003 and couldn’t eat very well for several weeks.  She thought she just had a sore throat from a cold, but doctors found a tumor in her throat and she died two months later.  I still miss her today.  As I push back tears and swallow down that lump, I remember her laugh and all the fun times we had.  She made a huge impact on my life and I will pass down to her great granddaughter, Rachel, my daughter, all that she gave to me.

Take some time to look around you, look back over your life, and recognize those women who have made an impact on your life.  Be sure to let them know how much they mean to you.  If they are already gone, be sure to pass on what you learned from them to someone special in your life.  That’s mentoring.

Passing the torch!