MENTORING A YOUNG BOY

As a university professor, I spend most of my time with adults. I love mentoring these future leaders. It’s very fulfilling work. But twice a month, I spend my lunch hour with an elementary school boy that I met through Big Brothers/Big Sisters. I joined Big Brothers/Big Sisters as a way of showing my students how to give back to the local community. As a father of three adult children, I knew I would enjoy spending time with a little boy, but I had no idea just how much life our relationship would give me. I look forward to these lunches. I know that we’ll have interesting conversations and that I’ll leave our time not only having invested in a young man who needs a solid male role model, but I’ll leave with a heart full of love and a few fun anecdotes to share with my students. This gives me an opportunity to put my Christian faith into real action. My Little Brother has given me so much insight on life, God, teaching, mentoring, and how I see the world. Each week, I am amazed as he shares his young heart with me. My only hope is that I am able to bless him as much has he has blessed me. And I hope this inspires others to look into their own local Big Brother/Big Sister program. Almost everyone can sacrifice a few lunches a month to spend some time with a young person who needs it.