On Resembling My Father

It's really cool to watch kids grow up and see what traits they inherit from their parents. I can readily name off which traits, physical and otherwise, I received from either of my parents: wavy hair from Mom, squinty eyes from Dad, loud laugh from Mom, sense of humor from Dad, figure from Mom, wide feet from Dad, brain from both sides, and on and on. To eventually look and sound like your parents is one of nature's great hilarities.

It is this way when you are a child of God, too. When I was adopted as a daughter, I immediately began to take on new traits, to become a little more like my Father. By His grace, this will continue in a positive trajectory until I see Him face to face at the end of this life. I want to look and sound more and more like a child of God every day. I want to have my Dad's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

This morning, my baby all the sudden decided he didn't want to eat his banana. However, I know for a fact that he loves banana. I tried to verbally encourage him to eat it, but he was having none of it. Eventually, after breaking it off myself and gently hand-feeding it to him, he remembered, "Oh yes! I love banana! Banana is my favorite." I said to him, "See? Mommy knows you and knows what's good for you! You have to trust me because I know you best!"

There are so many times as a parent when I say things to my baby and I have to stop and smile, because I can just imagine God smiling and saying, "Hmmm, now where have I heard that before?"

As I watch my child grow up and delight in each little thing I can see that he inherited from me (taste in food) and from his father (facial expressions), I have to remember that it is much more important for him to begin to look and sound like his heavenly Father. Strange as it sounds, I care about that more than I care about him being smart, funny, well-fed or well-read.