Dollar Store Mentor

 Have you ever picked up a book in the dollar store? While I was Christmas-stocking shopping for my family I saw a book that I decided to pick up and hand to my husband for my own stocking. (It’s weird, but, yeah, we do things like that!)  I figured for a dollar it was worth a curiosity read. The book was called “Dangerous Surrender” and was written by Kay Warren, wife of well-known pastor, Rick Warren, author of the best-seller “The Purpose-Driven Life” among other books.  I had read Rick Warren’s book, participated in several DVD bible studies by him and even heard him speak at a conference, but I had heard very little about Kay. I have greatly benefited from Rick’s ministry, so I was curious what Kay might be like. That book has turned out to be much more than a satisfaction of my curiosity.

Mentors aren't always people that we see face to face. A mentor can be anyone who instructs and inspires by their example. I have found a mentor in Kay Warren, a woman who has learned to come out of her box and experience a life beyond comfortable borders.

In “Dangerous Surrender” (updated and republished as “Say Yes to God” in 2010, thus the dollar store) Kay describes her journey from content pastor’s wife to passionate global HIV/AIDS advocate. Although up until that time her world was already bigger than most of us will ever experience, she was inside a “box” and content to be so. Then she heard a call she couldn't ignore. She shares how her eyes were opened to the global HIV/AIDS crisis and how she couldn't escape the burden that something had to be done and that she was the one to do it. She describes her life as “Before HIV/AIDS” and “After HIV/AIDS”. She has gone places, met people, done things and spoken about topics that did not show up on her radar before that moment. She has overcome obstacles, including two bouts with cancer, weathered criticism, and still stayed the course, never wavering in her objective to advocate for those with HIV/AIDS and the children orphaned as a result of the crisis.

So what have I learned from this new mentor I found in a dollar store? Many things and I expect to learn more as I observe her from a distance. But here are a few lessons.

Ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Kay shared her lifelong struggle with accepting herself as an ordinary person rather than someone extraordinary. Then she answered the call and realized that it didn't matter that she was ordinary. She could accomplish something extraordinary and God would get the glory for it.

You and I can definitely do that! When we answer the call and receive the empowerment that comes along with it, we can accomplish extraordinary things. It begins as I start to take the steps. Why not?

Genuine, committed concern for others causes me to move beyond my own comfort zones. Until the day Kay became fully aware of the HIV/AIDS crisis she was content to serve in ways that had become comfortable and familiar. When her heart was overwhelmed by compassion for those suffering with HIV/AIDS she began to move out of the comfortable in order to act on their behalf.

Motivation to move in an unanticipated direction comes as I respond to the call to act on behalf of someone else. You and I exist for the benefit of others, not to pursue our own comfort and pleasure. When we commit to that we will find ourselves on a new and satisfying path.

The deepest motivation to explore my own perimeters and take some pioneer action comes from a commitment to say “yes” to God no matter what the cost. I could relate to many of Kay’s struggles as she shared her journey, but what I could relate to most was her desire to follow God, to say “yes”, to honor Him no matter what. When I get right down to the bottom of it all that is my greatest desire and has been the greatest motivation to move beyond my own comfortable borders and explore my own pioneer territory.

Thanks, Kay.

Check out Kay's website to be instructed and inspired. www.kaywarren.com