further up and further in

Tonight I received a wonderful gift.

An old legal writing professor of mine gave me 40 minutes of phone time brimming with her wisdom, experience, and encouragement for a class I teach. Some of the things that she mentioned made me want to shout "Yes! I am not the only person to have experienced that!" And some of the advice she gave answered questions that I hadn't even thought to ask.

As we talked, I thought about two things. First, we share a kinship from being on the same path. And, second, she has a lot of wisdom from being further along.

The most valuable part of our phone conversation, though, is that we're not only on the same path of legal-writing-professor-hood. My old professor and I are both on the path of being a disciple of Christ.

We talked about doing all to the glory of God, and what that means when you teach part time and don't feel like you can give each project the attention perfection would require. She told me about how she came to realize that her stress in grading assignments wasn't inappropriate to bring up for prayer by her friends at church. She encouraged me to pray over my workload, realizing that my responsibilities are a stewardship before God.

We share a kinship from being on the same path. And she has a lot of wisdom from being further along.

The blessing I received in my professor's gift shouldn't have come as a surprise. God built Christian community this way. Part of what my professor was doing tonight was fulfilling a Titus 2 role of teaching a younger woman how to walk -- in the midst of real-life problems -- on the path of discipleship. Part of what she was doing was imparting some of the counsel and wisdom Solomon talked so much about in Proverbs. Part of what she was doing was being a mentor, like Paul was to Timothy -- pointing out the things that are trustworthy in a world where there are so many choices.

Tonight I received a gift. But my professor wasn't the giver. She was the channel. My gift came from my Father, Who gives every good and perfect gift.

Are you putting yourself in a position to receive this gift? Are you "plugged in" with someone who is walking the same path as you, but is further along?

Your parents may be a good start. And in your area of study, or in your chosen career, do you have a mentor who would be willing to share experiences with you? Someone you can call with question, or whose life stories you can glean for experience of God's direction and faithfulness?

If not, these are some things to pray for. And, if so, these are precious gifts that call for songs of thanksgiving.