Just Like Me

It started innocently enough… I walk into Lydia’s room on a Sunday morning and ask, “What would you like to wear today?” Her reply, “Well, what are YOU wearing? I want to wear what you are wearing to be just like you.” Now I hear this refrain multiple times a week and I choose a purple shirt and capris or a black and white dress for Lydia to wear so she can be “just like me.” Lydia declares that her favorite color is yellow, “just like mommy.” And that she wants to play the flute and do ballet “just like mommy.” While it’s humbling to have someone idolize me, she does hear “Lydia looks just like you!” so often from friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances that I can’t help but think the idea has been planted in her brain.

And while it’s “cute” at age almost 5, it causes me to ponder. Does she want to be “just like me” when I speak harshly out of impatience or frustration? Does she want to be “just like me” when I stare at the computer screen instead of her sweet face when she’s talking? Does she want to be “just like me” when I run around frantic cleaning or picking up instead of reading or playing with her? Does she want to be “just like me” when I pray or sing? (she did tell me out of the blue today, “mommy, I like the Word FM – our local Christian radio station) Oh, my, how incredibly impressionable our little ones are. And how we should cherish these times that they look at us with awe and admiration (as I know the tween/teenage years are coming all too fast!)

So maybe the next time I’m interrupted from my “work” I’ll completely divert my attention to my little blessings, little lives longing for love, and be proud when I see them do the same. If they want to be “just like me” than I had better be “just like Jesus” And when I’m not, I will seek His and their forgiveness and we will learn together how to walk in His ways and live life to His glory.

Someday, if they are “just like me” may they honor and glorify the Lord as a forgiven child of God. May they exude grace and kindness and respect and love.