My Own Personal Mr. Miyagi

I always wished I had my own personal Mr. Miyagi, from The Karate Kid movie. He's the kind of person who takes the underdog under his wings and teaches him everything he knows. You know, the true wisdom of life. Wax on-wax off! Paint the fence up! Paint the fence down! Catch fly with chopsticks! I watched the movie. I learned from Miyagi. At least I thought I learned.

After that movie came out, I'm sure every boy in America thought they had found the best thing since apple pie. Me and my friends had to try out the things we learned from Mr. Miyagi. We waxed on, and waxed off. Painted the fence up and painted down. When we wanted to show our power and our knowledge, it was customary to raise our hands in the air and assume the stork kick position. If you could do the famous stork kick while balancing on something sticking out of the ground then you were the man!

But what every boy really wanted was their own Mr. Miyagi. A man that took the time to teach them how to be a man. Someone who would teach by example. A leader who would challenge to go well beyond mediocre, to the point where there was satisfaction that you were doing your best and upholding a great tradition. I just knew in my heart Mr. Miyagi would have done the same for me and for anyone else. And I was right. He went on to make many more less famous Karate Kid spinoffs where he took others under his wing and taught them the art of Karate.

Now I'm 33, married with four kids, and I still sometimes find myself wanting my own personal Mr. Miyagi. Someone that makes the time to include me in developing my character. I think most guys hit adulthood feeling pumped about getting out in the world, but find that after a while it's a lot harder than they thought. Also not a lot of guys really ever experience friendship like Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi had. Mr. Miyagi had maturity, and I wanted it too.

Well, I'm sure I have a point in all this. It's not good to try navigating life all by yourself. You'll sink your ship for sure. Also understand that while you may long for a mentor like Mr. Miyagi to help you deal with whatever stage of life you're in now, it might just be that you can be the Mr. Miyagi in someone else's life where they are. Look around everywhere you go, and these are the people that God has placed in your world where you have something to offer. Don't just spend all your time and all your energy on yourself, which is the norm. Invest yourself in others and you will have a full life. If you feel really alone and wish you had your own Miyagi, then talk to God about it. Hebrews 4:15 says, "We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses." Jesus, our High Priest, knows what you're feeling, and beckons us to ask God to supply us with what we need. The Bible says, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" and again it says, "whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." In the book of James we are warned, "you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."

Do you need a friend or a mentor? Ask God specifically for one. Also ask Him to teach you how to be a true friend and mentor to someone else. No one can trick God into doing what they want, so we must examine our motives for what we ask. God never promised us a Mr. Miyagi, but He does promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you, " and He is looking out for our best interests, so trust Him.


--Johnie