Train Well

A wide variety of people take part in shaping our lives whether our leaders, mentors or family. Strong influence may come from school teachers, relatives, ministry leaders and friends. Pondering my own life, I must conclude that my mother was one of the most influential mentors who guided me to be the person I am today. It began early in my toddler years as she taught me to be a ‘little lady.’ Sit with your legs together – pull your dress down over your knees - don’t talk with food in your mouth - don’t be sassy – say please and thank you. These were commonly spoken to me in daily training as she endeavored to shape me into a presentable young lady.

As the years flew by, more guidelines were modeled before me, and I learned to develop a prayer life, a time of Bible reading and devotions. Our family prayed together daily, and that was besides mealtime and bedtime prayers. As a child, this was not something I always enjoyed, but I was given no choice; and perhaps from repetition I finally learned the marvelous benefits of prayer. It is now a constant in my life.

She also taught me to dress with style and class, but most importantly to dress modestly. Much time was taken for curling and styling my hair so as to be a good example of femininity. I was taught to represent Jesus well and to live and dress in a way that would point others to Him.

After marrying an evangelist at the young age of nineteen, we traveled for seven years in which most of the time we stayed in the home of the Pastor. I found much of my mother’s teaching to be valuable. She had taught me to always be helpful to the Pastor’s wife, especially in meal preparation and cleaning the kitchen afterward. I received many accolades for that small contribution that was a result of my mother’s training.

During this time, I found so many Pastor’s wives to have a part in my mentoring. I gleaned so much cherished knowledge from them that is still important to me today. We usually stayed a minimum of two weeks with them which gave ample time for a good education.

One Pastor’s wife in particular made a big impression on me. She had four young children, cooked all the meals for us for weeks, and got up every morning at 4:30 to have her prayer time. She didn’t have any extra time, but she MADE time to have a relationship with God. I’ve never forgotten that and made it a practice for myself – just not at 4:30 a.m.

I am so grateful for each of these ladies that helped mold me into the person I am today. You never know how many others are watching you and learning from you whether good or bad. Choose your actions wisely, and train well!

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