When I grow up…

Recently, my 9-year old daughter was invited to spend a special day with her friend who was celebrating her birthday. They had planned to tour the ocean discovery centre and then head to a favourite restaurant for lunch. During their time, my friend (and Mom of the birthday girl) was sending me a few photos of their silly shenanigans. One photo was of the two of them standing near a fence with the ocean behind them. The birthday girl proudly wearing her bright pink ribbon indicating it was her special day and my daughter standing next to her. The two of them with smiles so big and bright, I’d love to know what the joke was! It’s hard to believe how fast the time goes but these two friends have been together since kindergarten and watching them mature into amazing young ladies is truly remarkable.

One of the photos that was texted to me showed my daugther’s kids menu picture she had drawn in crayon. The caption above the picture read, “Who do you look up to in your community?” My daughter had drawn a photo of ME! I was wearing a fabulous top with a great big red heart on it and there were hearts all around my head. An arrow next to my leg indicated this was “MOM” with yet another heart. My friend texted me this… “Ok your daugther is THE sweetest. She said ‘I am drawing a picture of my mom because I look up to her. She is always helping us and being loving. She cooks for us all the time.'” Well talk about a total emotional breakdown! My heart melted into a pile of goo right there on the floor. What a sweetheart indeed.

But as I sat and soaked in the love I felt, I began to really be grateful for what she DOES see in me. Honestly, I often don’t see it in myself. The harried pace of Mom life/Mom guilt can rob you from realizing that you are making a difference in their lives. I let it settle for a while and I began to thank the Lord that she sees the positive side. If I’m honest, I often feel like I’m just barely hanging on. Particularly in this season when our kids have been on Spring Break for almost six months! Whew! I know I have lost my patience more than once with everyone under foot in one place and I’m sure my anxiety has been felt by each of my kids (and hubby too). But yet, in this moment, I’m thankful to the Lord that He helps her to see all the good stuff. Stuff that she wants to emulate in her own life. Stuff that is helping to inspire her. Thank you Lord!

My mind turns to our own childhoods and how each of us at some point or another have likely had someone in our lives that we want to be like. Maybe it’s a Mom or Dad, a cool older sibling, an Aunt or Uncle, a teacher or maybe even David Hasselhoff from Knight Rider (that may or may not be a personal example). What I’m suggesting though is that there have been influential people in our lives that have helped to shape who we become as adults. Even in school, we were likely asked the question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question that helped to shape each of us into the jobs/paths/roles we would play in our adult years. Sometimes even with 40+ years under my belt, I will still utter the words, “when I grow up…” I’m not sure we ever really arrive.

That being said, there IS someone I would like to be like and I’m hoping the same for you too. In my effort to strive to be the best at everything (yes, I’m a tad bit competitive), the only true ‘person’ I want to be like is Jesus. You see, when Jesus walked the earth more than 2,000 years ago, his compassion & wisdom was like no other the people had seen before. The gentle way he taught those who listened was effective and people were drawn to his peaceful, patient & charismatic way. He helped those in need, he prayed for the sick, he gave of himself over and over again without expecting anything in return. Ultimately, he gave his very life so that we could live a life of freedom from our sin.

That’s the kind of person I want to be. Slow to anger, quick to forgive, always giving without expecting praise in return. If I can be like Jesus, then those around me will benefit from the joy that flows naturally from me. My daughter wants to be like me, because I’m like Jesus. What a wonderful gift we can give to everyone around us. When we choose to be like Him, our loved ones, friends, co-workers can’t help but be inspired to be like that too.

I encourage you today, wherever you are, whatever you’re going through, turn your eyes upon Jesus. As the old hymn says, “look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of His glory and grace.” Look to Jesus and trust Him with your life, your hurts, your victories. EVERYTHING!

When I grow up, I want to be like HIM.

Blessings for today,

April

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PS – I’d love to hear your stories. Who/What did you want to be when you grew up?

PPS – Not sure about this whole Jesus thing? Want to know more? Please feel free to reach out to me and I’d be happy to answer your questions with zero judgement. Much love.

photos courtesy of pexels.com & Shantala Mann