Denver Seminary

M GLIMPSES OF GRACE For of His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace (John 1:16 ESV). DR. SUSAN ARNOLD IS A GRADUATE OF COLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (BA), DENVER SEMINARY (MA), AND TRINITY SCHOOL FOR MINISTRY (DMIN). SHE HAS DIVERSE INTERESTS THAT INCLUDE PHILOSOPHY, LITURGY, AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING. Mentoring directors enjoy a unique perspective in their role with Denver Seminary students. While each student meets with a mentor weekly, a mentoring director's interactions with students also take other forms: • Semimonthly meetings in group settings; • A one-on-one check-in conversation at mid- semester; and • Several written reflections from the students, submitted over the course of the semester. A colleague of mine refers to these opportunities as providing the "balcony view." What does a mentoring director see from this wide-angle perspective? In a word, grace. Of course, we do not see grace the way we see a bird in the sky or a cell under a microscope. Grace is not an object to be observed in that way. Rather, we see grace the way we see the wind when the branches of a tree swing and its leaves dance (John 3:8). We see evidence. We see the effect. We see grace when a student is flourishing in a newfound ministry context. We see grace as a student, in a flurry of tears, abandons false conceptions of self and embraces their identity as God's child. We see grace when a pornography habit is renounced and replaced with consistent, daily prayer. We know grace has had its way when ears are open to listen with humility, lips open to speak truth, and hands open to serve with compassion. We catch a glimpse of grace as a student wrestles with pain and loss, and even in that temporary darkness, rests more deeply and securely in God's loving presence. I could go on, but you get the point: mentoring directors enjoy a full parade of God's grace each and every semester. Our work is challenging, but it is never without occasion to stand in awe and wonder at what can happen when we relinquish ourselves to the operation of grace in our lives. But I will tell you a little secret: one need not be a mentoring director to be an observer of grace. Any one of us can, from a variety of perspectives, discern the work of grace around us, among us, in us, and through us. Some days I wonder whether we Christians need the ability to discern the fingerprints of grace every bit as much as we need to relinquish ourselves to its operations. If, as the apostle John wrote, we have all received "grace upon grace," we certainly have much to see, to appropriate more intentionally, and to share more generously. ENGAGE 15 MENTORING evgenyatamanenko/Thinkstock

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