The Joys of Mentoring

Today I watched the live announcement of the 2022 Selah Award finalists, (The picture I am using is last year's symbol which I received as a finalist in last year's contest.) This year my name was not called as a finalist, though I did enter a piece. Still, I was overjoyed to hear the finalists' names called out for a couple of reasons. I have so many writer friends now and I heard a few of their names called and am happy for each. But one in particular, thrilled me! Jenni Clark Dickens is new to the writing world and not so well known yet, but I assure you in time her name will be known! I've had the privilege of reading her work and she is quite the writer!

I met her last spring when she attended a workshop I taught at the MidSouth Christian Writers Conference. After the conference she reached out to me for some mentoring help. I have read and edited some of her pieces and gotten to know her. We fast became good friends. When she sent me the piece that was announced as a Selah finalist today, I knew immediately it was a special piece. I gave her a few editing suggestions but precious few. She is really quite gifted at writing. And I told her to submit it to Chicken Soup for the Soul for their Christmas book. I was not surprised to learn they had accepted it a few weeks later. Then I suggested she submit it to the Selah in the Essay category, which she did. And today it was announced as a finalist! I think I may be as excited about that as she is. 

But there is one more detail about this winning piece. She bested me. I entered a piece I'd had published in Chicken Soup for the Soul last year in this same category. Mine did not make the list of finalists. I feel like a teacher whose student has proven to be better than the teacher. It makes me proud as a peacock. Touche' to Jenni! Way to go! I applaud you and am honored to have had even a small hand in your current success. 

On Mentors and Mentoring

In the last two days I have been impacted by both my writing mentor and a young writer I have mentored.

The one writer whom I credit with launching my writing career, Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress, has seen many sorrows in her life. Her first husband died many years ago from cancer, her only daughter (she has four sons) lived life handicapped and passed away quite young, and her second husband suffered a severe major stroke five years ago. Yesterday, he passed away. My heart has been heavy for Lettie and her family.

In 2009, when I was still unpublished, I attended a writer's conference where Lettie taught a workshop on freelancing small pieces like articles and devotions. I went home and successfully applied the information she taught in her very informative workshop. Without her willingness to share what she knew, I would have never known the basic how to's of freelancing. She opened up the world of writing to me.

Though my heart is heavy for my mentor, today it filled with joy over a young Nigerian writer I have mentored. Some years ago, a Nigerian man sent me a FB friend request. I am very selective in accepting friend request from people I do not know, especially men. I checked out his profile & saw that a) he was young enough to be my son, and b) his statuses we're very Christ honoring so I accepted his friend request.

His statuses kept grabbing my heart. At Christmas he wrote that he walked into work & all his coworkers were downcast & dejected because they had not been paid in two months, he told them, "This is the season that we celebrate the birth of our Savior! Be of good cheer!" 

That along with some other similar statuses prompted me to send him a private message telling him he would make a good devotional writer. Via email & FB, I mentored him in devotional writing. And I also sent email inquiries to the various devo magazine I write for. Sadly, the only one that could get a payment to Nigeria was The Upper Room. 

Today I received my complimentary copy of The Upper Room (because I am a contributor.) To my joy, not only was a devo in there by him but also by a young woman in his church whom he has mentored. 

On the heels of these two very different events, I am left pondering the joys and sorrows of connecting with others, of mentoring and being mentored.