When the Mentor Leaves — Elisha's Inheritance at the Jordan
Elisha walked toward the Jordan knowing what was coming. Three times he refused to look away. What he discovered there is a word for anyone who fears the work cannot survive in them—that the mantle was never theirs to earn, only to reach for and lift.
The Chair No One Else Can Fill
There is a particular kind of quiet that settles into a room after someone leaves it for good. The chair is still there. The office, the kitchen table, the pew they always sat in. But the person who looked at you and somehow made you believe you were capable of more than you could see in yourself, that person is gone. And the work they handed you is still on the table. The question that rises is not, what do I do next? It is quieter and more frightening than that. Was what they saw in me real, or did it only exist because they were in the room?
Elisha walked toward that question with his eyes open. Three times he was told the day had come. Three times he refused to look away. What he discovered at the Jordan's edge is a word for anyone who fears the work cannot survive in them.
Take a moment to read 2 Kings 2:1-12. Read it on Bible Gateway if you'd like.