Finally... after having my planned girls' day with my Mom and Maelynn preempted by the flu and the hangings-on thereafter, we took off today and went to Waco. We had a ton of fun shopping for scarves and sunglasses and purses for Mommy and Granny, even trying on some seriously funny hats in the process.
The whole day, I couldn't stop thinking about how much alike we all are. The common threads, be they cute, funny, endearing, healthy, unhealthy, or even a little crazy, were obvious even in Maelynn. We love silly. We love fun. We love purses and shoes and other pretty stuff. We even tend to like the same colors.
At lunch, Mom mentioned that Eric was noting the other day that Maelynn looks more like me every day.
Then it hit me.
Maybe, just maybe, part of the purpose for our kids looking like us and acting like us in certain ways is to remind us of who we are.
When I look at my daughter, I see the most beautiful creature I could imagine. Every night, as I tuck her in her bed, I remind her that she's the little girl I always wanted. Such a blessing, such a gift straight from heaven. But when I think about myself, I don't see the beauty. I see the pounds here, the start of wrinkles there. The social awkwardness, the clumsiness.
Then there are those times that I see the kids engaged in a less-than-endearing behavior, and it's humbling to look at these little creatures who look a little like both of us, and the remembering of the smile like his and the laugh like mine, and the sparkle in her eye that reminds him of me somehow also reminds me of their humanity.
Somewhere between their inability or unwillingness to obey at times and the precious things they say, between the times they're shouting "NO!" and professing their love for us or each other, our own need for grace and mercy collides with the need to give it.
Thanks be to God for another breathtaking, live action picture of his love for us and our need for it.
The whole day, I couldn't stop thinking about how much alike we all are. The common threads, be they cute, funny, endearing, healthy, unhealthy, or even a little crazy, were obvious even in Maelynn. We love silly. We love fun. We love purses and shoes and other pretty stuff. We even tend to like the same colors.
At lunch, Mom mentioned that Eric was noting the other day that Maelynn looks more like me every day.
Then it hit me.
Maybe, just maybe, part of the purpose for our kids looking like us and acting like us in certain ways is to remind us of who we are.
When I look at my daughter, I see the most beautiful creature I could imagine. Every night, as I tuck her in her bed, I remind her that she's the little girl I always wanted. Such a blessing, such a gift straight from heaven. But when I think about myself, I don't see the beauty. I see the pounds here, the start of wrinkles there. The social awkwardness, the clumsiness.
Then there are those times that I see the kids engaged in a less-than-endearing behavior, and it's humbling to look at these little creatures who look a little like both of us, and the remembering of the smile like his and the laugh like mine, and the sparkle in her eye that reminds him of me somehow also reminds me of their humanity.
Somewhere between their inability or unwillingness to obey at times and the precious things they say, between the times they're shouting "NO!" and professing their love for us or each other, our own need for grace and mercy collides with the need to give it.
Thanks be to God for another breathtaking, live action picture of his love for us and our need for it.
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