It takes bravery to put yourself out there and ask someone to give you some of his or her wisdom.
There was a time in my life when I was far from home and had recently become a Bible College dropout. I was a volunteer at the Los Angeles Dream Center because I had met a young girl on a trip there and I wanted to know her story. Volunteering on the weekends wasn't sufficient enough for me, so I dropped out of college after my sophomore year and decided to live on the basement floor of the Queen of Angeles hospital and volunteer full time with the teen discipleship program.
I was poor. I knew no one. And I was head-deep learning how to understand gang culture, children who had had more life experiences than I had, and figuring our how in the world I could be of any value in that place.
Graciously, there was Julie.
She was my mother-away-from-home, the single woman who took me in like her own. While I was trying to be a mentor/big sister/mother-type to these teens, some only 3 years younger than I, she treated me like her own daughter. And that season was hard. It was so hard. So very hard.
Because, who was I?
To this day I am immensely thankful for Julie.
She offered me the grace I was trying so hard to pour.
She helped to fill my cup.
When I was sick, depressed, and overworked, it was always her. She offered time, a get-away, and heaps of kindness. She also supplied me with a lot of mixed nuts, which, to a girl with very little money, may as well as been a feast.
She took care of me.
She was my mentor.
My friend.
One of my favorite people.
Of all time. Ever.
Be Brave:
Invite an older, wiser person to grab coffee with you this week.
Julie, if we lived closer, I would invite you out for an Americano. My treat.
Advent, Day 9:
The Dachshund
The Dachshund
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