Mentoring and Fear

I am afraid of mentoring. There I said it. Yes, it is part of my job description-one half to be exact. Oh, don’t confuse fear with passion. I have a passion for mentoring, to invest in the next generation, to help someone move forward, to encourage and come along side someone imparting courage, wisdom and understanding.  There is joy in committing time to journey together, joy in the breakthrough moments when progress happens. Joy happens in the give and take as human beings .

So what is the origin of my fear? Mentoring is risky. Mentoring reveals who I am to another. A sharing of what I know and have to give –but there is a lot I don’t have to give, surpassed only by what I don’t know. Fear creeps in with a gnawing feeling that I may not have the answer, that I might not be able to help and that I might get it wrong. You see, any courage, wisdom and understanding imparted is at its best incomplete and imperfect, at its worst, destructive and deeply flawed.

Inside my head and heart a voice says “I am not enough.” I become afraid.

It is at this point grace intercedes…

There is another Voice too. This Voice says, “you are not enough but I Am.”

The One who multiplied a simple meal of bread and fish to feed the famished multitude says “give what you have, I’ll make more.”

The Divine Mentor says, “give who you are for that is what I do at every moment with everyone.Do not fear, I will love with you. That’s who I am and what you need.”

A disciple who witnessed the miracle of bread and fish later said this, “Perfect love casts out fear.”

Because He loves, I love and give without fear.

Have you had fear in mentoring others?

In my next post I’ll discuss the origin of the motivation we need to mentor others.