I have a little copycat. It’s my daughter. She watches everything I do and then does it.
She started helping me with the dishes because she was watching me put away the silverware. She knows where to put trash because she sees me do it. She always asks to see herself on my phone because I take pictures of her all day. I have learned how much I say “yeah” because that is her response 75% of the time.
Even in the car she has learned how to watch me in her mirror. Her little hand shoots up if I’m eating something (or if there’s something that looks like it could possibly be food).
When I’m washing my hands, she says, “hands” and rubs her little fingers together in front of her.
While all these things are cute and endearing, thinking about it today scared me a little.
She watches me all the time… so she’ll see if I’m upset cause I got cut off in traffic, if I respond to my hubby rudely, if I say a bad word, if I shout, if I’m a smart-aleck, if I’m being lazy, if I am not kind to others. The list goes on.
I’ve got a little copycat who needs to have a good example to follow. I need to be mindful of how I act around her and what I do and say. She really is copying my every move and learning from me.
And, I need to be mindful because I don’t want her to just see me. But to see Christ in me.
As a child of God, I am called to reflect Christ in all that I do. It’s Him who I should be copying and therefore modeling to others. Especially my child. When we become Christ’s we are to put off the old self and put on the new self (Ephesians 4:22-24), let Christ’s mind be in us (Philippians 2:5).
And as my daughter gets older and understands more and more, I want her to see that Christ is moving in my heart and that I am changing to be more like Him.
She needs to see a mom that loves the Lord by responding kindly to people (even in LA traffic), by going out of her way to serve others, by putting herself last and meeting needs, by having words that are like honey, by working hard to take care of responsibilities at home.
And while it is scary to think that I am molding a little image-bearer for the Lord, it is also such a great privilege that I get to do this! I’m so thankful for this responsibility that God has given me in being her mom. He’s trusted me with such a precious task and I know that He will help me as I attempt to mother her well.
So, my little copycat has reminded me that I need to copy Christ.
