"Mentor"

Dad just had no patience,

He hurried all the time,

No job if not done quickly,

Was ever really fine.

And it was hard to please him,

Or get done fast enough,

So as you might imagine,

The work got pretty tough.

And he despised a slacker,

Whatever slowed him down,

And if they couldn’t keep up,

He’d send ‘em back to town.

Up and down the highway,

A sale barn everyday,

On Saturday we sorted,

No matter, come what may.

But I had another mentor,

His name was Sidney Joe,

He could do ‘bout anything,

And no one thought him slow.

He was our ranch’s foreman,

And lived there on the place,

Married with a daughter,

Kept a smile upon his face.

If the plumbing needed fixin’,

Then that’s just what he did,

Mechanic work or welding,

You could always count on Sid.

Electrical or carpentry,

All that he could do,

Fix a bush hog or a baler,

Old Sid could do that, too.

 And when it came to cattle,

There was no better hand,

If the job was horseback,

As cowboy, was the man.

The others deferred to him,

When time to get things done,

But he would keep it steady,

And never on the run.

And Dad would always give him,

More than he could do,

And sometimes try to rush him,

For more chores to get through.

But Sidney Joe would smile and nod,

As Dad would drive away,

He was so effective,

And often he would say,

Let’s get this party started,

Brad, it’s me and you,

He’d say that it was mostly me,

But that was hardly true.

I wondered how Sid did it,

Why he did not react,

When Dad was so demanding,

And often on his back.

Two men so very different,

And both helped me to grow,

Dad taught me to hustle,

But Sid to steady go.

And both of them long gone now,

Dad had a heart attack,

The whiskey killed old Sidney Joe,

And that’s a well-known fact.

But clearly in my memory,

I see both of those men,

A cattleman and cowboy,

Who did their best to send,

Their knowledge and experience,

With me into this world,

I often think about it,

As the flag of time unfurled.

God knows we need our mentors,

To help us get along,

Whether fast or workin’ steady,

‘Cause both will make us strong.

“Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others…” (2 Timothy 2:2, NLT)

Here is the Bible’s basic learning strategy for spiritual growth: receive from a mentor, then mentor people who are ready to learn. Then, these people can mentor another circle of people, and so it multiplies. This is exactly what Jesus did with the twelve, and later, what Paul did with Timothy and other proteges. The two or three who gather in Jesus’ name form the basic cell of the body of Christ. This is not to negate what happens in a worship service or classroom setting. Both have their place. But nothing can substitute for the small circle of support and accountability that comes through mentorship.

Lord, give us mentors and help us mentor others, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Clark Kelley Price, clarkkelleyprice.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Clark, and God bless you.