Thursday, April 14, 2011

What Does She See?



This is my oldest child, Ashley. She is an amazing girl...full of love and compassion for others. She is on fire for the Lord and wants to dig into His Word to learn more & more. A true gift from God. But lately, I notice she is watching me...I mean really watching me. What does she see? I can tell what she is seeing by what is happening in her life. I see many of the bad habits she has gotten from watching me. She is starting to develop an unhealthy relationship with food. This is all me. She sometimes says some of the things I say when I am exasperated...nothing horrible, just little prhases or common grumbles. I also see some of the things manifesting that I have tried, with much prayer, to instill into her life. She has a great prayer life...and is comfortable praying out loud in front of people or with a friend. She DOES NOT gossip, and will turn away from it when her peers are doing so. (I have seen that one with my own eyes). She has a heart for children who need special help and wants to adopt because of all that we as a family has gone through. The part that has got me really thinking and being very careful is I see her watching with wonder. She is watching how I interact with Rob. She was watching us embrace in the kitchen the other day...I turned around and there she sat...just watching. No expression, just watching. I have a child who has serious mental health issues and can be very frustrating to deal with, when an issue arises, I find her watching me. She has been trying to mimic how I sit and eat at the table, I don't mean mimic in the preschool way, she's floundering and trying to figure out how to do this "young lady" thing. She even answers the phone the same way I do. My point is, she is always watching me. What am I teaching and showing her? I now see that everything I do...even if I think she's not watching...matters to her. God has been laying it on my heart lately how important my job is as mom. This is new territory for me, as she is my oldest child. When they are little, you teach them and care for them, you clean them and train them in manners...and when they get bigger it seems to have changed a bit. It's like she's asking me to show her, not just tell her. I feel blessed and challenged with this awesome responsibility, and with God's help, will try my best to be up for it! I know I will fail, but God will pick up the pieces. I need and want to be prayerful about all of this...because she is watching.

4 comments:

  1. Isn't that an interesting thing about daughters? I see my girls do the same thing. We mom's are their best role models and as such we need to be extremely careful of how we perform. Not always easy for sure but they don't miss a thing!!

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  2. Our children truly are a mirror for our own behavior. I have found nasty little things that our children emulate...of course, it's much easier to pick out the ugly traits and behaviors they collect from dad and I along the way...helps keep us accountable.

    However, there are also many wonderful things I see in them, that are the result of the Holy Spirit's work in my heart. I am truly grateful for that, and also the conviction of the need to be more Christlike on a daily basis.

    God Bless!

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  3. That's wonderful. So many young people wouldn't think to mimic their "old" parents. These girls are precious!

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  4. Kim,

    I think it's wonderful that your daughter is "watching" you. Just "be yourself" Mom. It will be okay. Your daughter doesn't expect you to be perfect. She just wants you to be real. :)

    Blessings,

    -L. Rose

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