Nancy & Justine — One Another

“ MENTOR: (n) an experienced and trusted adviser.”

One of the most treasured relationships I have ever had has been with my mentor. The older I get the more I realize that this relationship dynamic is not common but so valuable, especially for those who are young and inexperienced in life and faith. I think it’s worth saying that having a mentor is not a Biblical term, per se. However, the idea of honoring one another, respecting people who are older than you, and growing in spiritual maturity are.

This summer, I sat down with one of my good friends, Justine, and asked her to tell me the story of how she got connected with her mentor, Nancy. Before we even really got into the conversation, Justine was overcome by her deep love and affection for Nancy. She began to cry and I did too. We both understand that without our mentors, we really would not be who we are today. Other than our families, and the continual intercession of Jesus Christ in our lives, our mentors have had the most significance in our spiritual journey. This is a snap shot of our conversation:

Sarah: How long have you been meeting with Nancy?

Justine: Since 2014 - about 6 years.

Sarah: How did that come about?

Justine: As the oldest sister (who’s always the listener and counselor for my younger sisters), I’ve always wanted someone older to meet with and talk with, but I never really knew who that would be or even how to start that. I knew of Nancy, her good reputation in the community preceded her. A friend gave me Nancy’s number and said that if I wanted to meet with her all I had to do was ask. I was nervous to ask though. I knew it was a long shot, but I asked anyway! I simply asked Nancy if she would mentor me. Nancy prayed about it and felt like the Lord wanted us to meet so, we did!

Sarah: How would you describe Nancy?

Justine: She’s freaking awesome. I just love her so much. She’s trust worthy. She’s not a gossip or drama stir-r-upper. She shuts that crap down. People trust her and respect her so much. You know she means everything that comes out her mouth. She really means what she says. And her heart really is for the next generation. She really cares about younger people. Even when our friend group would go out late for dinner or coffee, she would come! It didn’t matter how old she was or how young we were. She wanted to be with us and love on us. I’d also say that she’s really patient. She’s really good at waiting. Patient in prayer and good at waiting on the Lord.

Sarah: How often did you guys meet?

Justine: Once or twice a month at Busy Corner.

Sarah: What happened when you met?

Justine: Oh gosh. A lot. She listened to me. That meant a lot to me, especially as an older sister. I take on that “big sister” role in life a lot and it just meant so much to be listened to and be “taken care of” in a sense.

“She called out my identity in Christ.”

She called out my identity in Christ. She called out the good she saw in me - just so encouraging. It’s hard for me to really see myself. I think that’s true for a lot of us. Or God reveals another layer of truth about who we are but then we forget, so we need someone to help us remember.

Whenever I would meet with Nancy I just felt like she was a safe place. Yeah, we were at Busy Corner (loud people eating their pie, etc.) but she was the safe place. I could just be myself. It was a brief moment of having an older, much wiser sister. I never knew how much I needed that until I started meeting with Nancy.

I always appreciated that she never told me what to do. Sometimes I wish she would have! I would tell her about all my stuff, all my junk, and she would just listen so well. Like I said, she was good at waiting. She made room for the Holy Spirit. She would listen and we would pray. The only thing she would say again and again is, “Stay steady and trust God.”

““Stay steady and trust God”
- Nancy Schneider ”

Justine: Again and again Nancy would tell me that I can hear the voice of God. Just stay steady and trust God. That just meant so much to me to hear that because I’m always doubting myself or fearing I’ll mess up but Nancy believed in me and kept on encouraging me

Sarah: What did you learned from Nancy?

Justine: Well…

I know I’ve said it like a ton, but how to stay steady and trusting God. I can’t emphasis it enough and how it’s impacted my walk with God so much. Not like I’ve mastered staying steady and trusting God, but I’ve grown a ton in learning what it means to be steady in my faith through hard stuff and to really trust God even when it’s really hard. I know I’ve grown and changed.
She really helped me learn to hear the voice of God - how to discern truth from lies.
She helped me see myself rightly - more like how God sees me. She has called out my identity and helped me walk in it. You need someone to help you see what “walking” it out looks like.
She has helped me learn how to pray and specifically pray for freedom from things that have really hurt me (sin, spiritual warfare etc.)

Sarah: Gosh, what a woman.

Justine: I know…

Sarah: What do you love most about Nancy? How would you describe her?

Justine: Ha! Where do I start?

She’s kind and sweet. It’s not common, right? But she really is so kind and so sweet.
She’s merciful and loving.
Nancy is also feisty and is really on fire for the Lord.
She’s 100% trustworthy.
She’s honorable in the relationships she has. She never says a bad word about ANYONE. She really has no judgement towards people - isn’t that freaking awesome?
She has the gift of mercy so when you are with her you really feel free to be you and say whatever.
She’s such a good listener and asks good questions.
She asks the Lord what questions to ask people…she’s not there to just shoot the breeze over a slice of pie. She knows it’s more important to hear what God says, more than what she says.
She has a prophetic gifting, aka she declares the Truth about who God is and who I really am (because of Jesus).
She’s so tenderhearted - she weeps with you. You can tell she’s got the love of God living inside of her.
She really prays.
Whenever we get together she always brings the conversation back to God. What is He saying? What is He doing? Where is He leading? She knows it’s all about God.

“She knows it’s all about God.”