In Ways That Matter

I never heard those words. Never ever. Not in my whole entire life. Want to know which words I'm talking about?

"You look just like your mother."

There they are. The words I've never heard spoken to me. And it's true. I don't have her eyes, or her nose, or her hair, or even her skin. I honestly don't resemble her at all, unless you count our wide, flat bottoms. I definitely got that from her. (Sorry, Mama. We both know it's true.) The list of ways we are different is way longer than the list if ways we are alike.

In fact, I look very much like my Daddy on the outside. Truth be told, I probably have way more of his personality traits as well. I'm ok with that because he was very handsome, more kind and patient than I'll ever be, and hilarious.

But even though there's not much hope for me to start looking like my mom on the outside, she has so many beautiful qualities that I long to have. There are some ways that I really want to look like her.

My mother loves her family fiercely. I don't mean just a little. Or even a lot. I mean fiercely. Besides Jesus, there is nothing or no one she loves more than her people. She is completely dedicated and selfless. If we need her, any one of us, she drops whatever she's doing that instant. No hesitation. I want to love like that.

My mother has more faith than anyone I know. Her trust in Jesus never waivers. Life hasn't always been a walk in the park, but she has never stopped believing that God is in control in every situation. She has praised Him through every storm. I want to trust like that.

My mother doesn't spend much time worrying what other people think. She learned a long time ago that she only needs to focus on pleasing Jesus. People aren't always going to like you. I want to be wise like that. (Oh man, do I need to work on this one.)

My mother knows which things are worth getting upset over. She's taught me how to know when something is a big deal and when it isn't. When I look back through the years, I remember her telling me, "You'll see when you get older. None of this really matters". You know what? She was right. I want to be discerning like that.

There are so many other ways that I want to be like my mom. I could go on and on. There are big, life things that I still need to learn from her, and maybe even a few seemingly insignificant things (gravy making for starters).  So I pray for many more years with her on this earth. I definitely have a lot left to learn.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll start to look like her a little bit more in ways that really matter.