Many years ago, a group of women who were dear friends and partners in the gospel with me gathered to do a book study. As much as I loved them, I found myself feeling great resistance the first time we met; I didn’t want to have any part of it. What was going on? The next morning, God gave me a mental picture that has stuck with me.

Have you ever seen those cartoons of a guru on a mountaintop, sitting cross-legged, wearing a turban, waiting at the top of the mountain for seekers to come and ask a question, to which the guru would offer a profound answer? God showed me that after years of leading Bible study and teaching, I was imagining myself as that guru. I wanted to have all the answers; my resistance to being a part of this book group was that at some level I didn’t want to think I had anything left to learn.

God graciously redrew that cartoon of my life, showing me that I am still on the side of the mountain, with a lot more mountain still above me. In fact, the summit is not even visible in the frame of the picture; I will never attain it. With a changed heart, I continued in the book study, where I was convicted and challenged in multiple ways. I’m grateful for friends who know me and share this journey up the mountain with me.

Any time I start to feel like I have “arrived” or have all the answers or even am tempted to feel any level of superiority, that picture of me on the side of the mountain reminds me that, like every one else, I am in process. I have more to learn and more ways I need to grow.

Interestingly, this picture has come back to the forefront for me recently as I have been focusing on mentoring others. For a long time, I have seen myself on the side of that mountain, reaching my hand down to help others up. Now, God is adding a new hand to the picture, a hand reaching down to me. I am seeing anew that I should also seek to be mentored as well. While I was comfortable with the idea of being self-sufficient, this is not the posture God wants for me. Here is another lesson where God is teaching me not just to depend on Him, but on others as well (see Do not bring a purse).

Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?  There is more hope for a fool than for them. Proverbs 26:12

Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers. Proverbs 24:6