One warm, summer Sunday, when I was ten or eleven, several
people were visiting on the front lawn of the church after the service. I was
playing with some of my friends when Helen, a middle-aged woman in our church
stopped me and said, “Darla, if you want to know what you’re going to look like
when you get older, just look at your granny because you are the spitting image
of her.”
“Yikes!” I thought. I loved my granny more than words can
say, but when you’re ten or eleven years old, hearing you’re going to have
wrinkly skin and graying hair is NOT exactly good news.
I don’t remember what I said. I don’t think I said anything,
but I’m sure the look on my face combined with my lack of a response was
enough. But then again, knowing Helen, she probably didn’t realize I’d taken
her words as anything other than the compliment I now know them to be.
Fast forward a few years…
Friends and family all have different opinions about which
of our four kids look alike and who they look like. Some think Zach and
Elizabeth look alike, while others think Emma and Zach look alike. Some say
Elizabeth and Olivia favor John’s side of the family, but others disagree;
saying they favor my side.
Fast forward a few more years…okay, several more years…
“She’s a little mini-Darla” or “She looks just like you,”
are comments I often heard about Mack and me when she was a baby.
“Elizabeth has been cloned!” is something I’ve heard from
more people than I can count when they see pictures of Elizabeth’s daughter,
Laney Beth.
Then just the other day, Olivia took Essie on her lap and said, "Oh, my, you look just like your momma did when she was five."
And finally, one evening at the dinner table, John smiled and
said, “It finally happened. I’m married to Wanda, Jr.” (Granny) Turns out Helen
was right. I do look just like her—gray hair. a few wrinkles, and all! J
The point I want to make is this: We are all a reflection of
those who have made us. Our eyes, hair, nose structure, and the sound of our voice. Even allergies and kidney stones (don't ask) are traits we pass on to our children and grandchildren. We don’t
have any control over who gets what, though. It just happens.
More important than these things, though, are the qualities we decide whether or not to pass on. The qualities of faith, compassion, honesty, hope, forgiveness, and
love. THESE are the things that really matter and what we need to make sure we pass on to
our children. These are the things we want to see reflected back to us--the things we want people to see in our kids and grandkids and say, "You are just like your dad/mom".
Love,
Momma D
Momma D
Copyright 2016 Darla Noble. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
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