What do Harry Potter, a prophet, and NCFR have in common?  It sounds like the start of a warped joke, but there is actually a common thread. My husband and I were teaching the youth at our church about the Biblical prophet Jeremiah. The Old Testament prophets typically delivered a message of hope during difficult times, usually related to future events.   The point of this particular lesson was to encourage the teenagers to examine how they could be a prophet in their circle of friends and to identify the prophets in their own lives. 

We also cautioned them about the people in their lives who were more like the "Dementors" in the Harry Potter novels. As Remus Lupin explained to Harry Potter in the Prisoner of Azkaban, "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair... they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself...soul-less and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life." Unfortunately, I know a few people who seem to suck the life right out from me, similar to the Dementors. 

I pledged to these youth that I would work harder-to be the opposite of a Dementor; that I would be more like a... but, like a "what?" As I struggled for the antonym of Dementor to fill in the blank, the term "mentor" finally came to mind. After the lesson, I thought more about that term in detail. A mentor truly is the opposite of a Dementor. It is a person who provides peace, hope and happiness. It is someone who glories in growth and hope for the future. Get near a mentor, and your soul is replenished, receiving some of the best experiences of your life.

This is exactly how I would describe my friend and mentor Cheri Smith Fitzhugh. Cheri and I had known each other for many years before she became my professional mentor. She had always been a good friend and colleague, but it wasn't until I was working on my dissertation that she became my mentor.

Cheri and I first met while working in residence life at Mississippi State University. Although we worked together for only one year, there was an instant bond. She was a very caring and thoughtful person. While Cheri proclaimed that she did not know how to cook, her famous "homemade" chocolate chip cookies (from a box) were always delivered at just the right moment during a crisis or stressful situation. Cheri was there during difficult times, delivering a message of hope.

After that year, I married, moved to Texas, and started my doctoral degree.  Cheri and I were not the type of friends who talked on a weekly basis, but we always caught up with each others' lives during professional conferences.

I later moved to Alabama and discovered that Cheri was working at a University about 45 minutes from the University where I was working.  We began socializing together on a frequent basis: dinner, symphony, etc. (of course this was before children!).

Cheri knew I had completed my coursework in Texas, but the dissertation was far from complete. One night I explained to her how I struggled staying motivated when I sat down in front of my computer to write. I used all of my usual "dementor-like" techniques, glorifying in decay and despair:  I was so busy at work. I had a young child. My husband worked evenings and we didn't see each other much.

This is when she made the prophetic offer; she offered to set up a two hour appointment to meet with me weekly until I completed the dissertation.  I quickly took her up on that offer. 

Sure enough, for over a year, Cheri and I met once a week. She drove 45 minutes to Birmingham, sat with me for two hours while I worked on my dissertation, speaking truthfully about something I had written or offering words of hope when she didn't hear enough tapping on the keyboard of my computer. When our time was up, she often reminded me that this hard work would pay off in the future. Cheri was truly a prophet in my life.

In addition to the weekly meetings, Cheri was there to organize a letter stuffing party during which we folded and stuffed hundreds of surveys by candlelight because earlier that day a tornado had come through town and knocked out all of the power. Cheri was there, outside my office door, when I defended my dissertation by telephone because I was too pregnant to travel to Texas. Cheri was there for the weekly meetings, prophetically offering encouragement and hope for the future.

So, what do Harry Potter, a prophet, and NCFR have in common?  The best mentor I've ever had, Cheri Smith Fitzhugh.