Pioneer Girls

Pioneer Girls

Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.

As a child, I was always part of the church kids’ program. It didn’t hurt that sparkly jewels placed on a treasure chest were the reward we obtained for memorizing Bible verses—their shining hues of amethyst and emerald were an incentive for me to work hard to remember my verses.

When we moved to a new town just before I entered fourth grade, my family joined a new church, and I attended a new kids’ program. Pioneer Girls was steadfastly led by a gentle, loving woman named Ann, who was a local teacher and a family friend. Each week I would show up on Wednesday nights for activities and songs and crafts, as well as the once-a-year highlight of a Friday night sleepover at the church. I loved it.

As I continued to climb grade levels, my leaders changed. But the person in charge was always a mother or grandmother willing to pour her life into the young girls who attended each week.

Years later, when I returned for an event at the church, I had a conversation with an older woman named Shirley who had been one of my leaders during those tender years. She recalled a memory of me, one I’d forgotten, and commented fondly about my shy nature and childhood mannerisms. As we talked about who I was then and who I was now, I could hear the pride in her voice. At that moment, I felt profoundly grateful for just how much she and all the other women of the church had poured into me, how much they had cheered me on. Now, after many years’ absence, they celebrated the woman I’d become.

The mentoring friendships of the older women in my church—the hours they spent leading discussions with my grade-school friends and me, the Sunday mornings they spent interacting with me through junior high, the conversations we had that affirmed me through high school—all of those spoke life and wisdom into my heart. The care these women showed me reflected the love of Jesus. As women and as friends, may we always be open to pouring into those following behind us.

— Kristin

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Go out of your way to celebrate the success of a friend you’ve mentored.