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Family Resemblance


I've always thought my mom was/is the most beautiful woman in the world. Like most young girls, I'd sit and watch her put on makeup and grin when she winked or made a silly face at me in the mirror. There was no Disney princess or celebrity prettier than the woman who gave me my smile.

That's why it always made me so happy to hear people say that I looked like her. You just like your mama, so pretty. That was always my favorite compliment to receive. Even if the person only said, You look just like your mama, it was still a compliment of the highest regard to my little ears and heart. I used to practice smiling like her in the mirror, only showing my top row of teeth and squinting my eyes just a bit. I wanted to get it right. 

When I got older, my fascination with her grew more mature, I guess, because I started trying to imitate other things about her. I decided that I liked her handwriting, so I practiced mine so our cursive i's and s's matched. I practiced my laugh to match hers and even tried to walk like her sometimes. When she and I walked into a room together and people said we looked like twins, it was all I could do to keep from melting right then. 

I spent so much time, as a child, trying to look like my mother (physically). When I got a little older, I imitated her and tried to pick up her mannerisms (that I didn't realize I already had). Now, I want her style and confidence. 

I've realized that as humans, we are sensitive to the people and things around us. Whether you accept it or not, you resemble someone, inside and/or out. Someone has shaped you into being the person you are in this very moment. It's important to be careful who you allow to shape you. You may or may not want to resemble some of the people around you. 

I'm at a point where I'm taking care of myself behind-the-scenes so that my outside is a fitting representation of The One I hope to resemble, Jesus the Christ. I want to walk into a room, smile, or speak and people to see Him when they see me. The greatest compliment I could receive now is 'Jordyn really has a heart after God,' or 'Jordyn has a heart for God's people.' 

I've seen my mom go from cancer patient to cancer survivor and now to cancer awareness advocate/activist/supporter. What better way to show God gratitude than to use what he used in her life to magnify Him in theirs? I hear her saying to people these days, It's by the grace of God that I made it through. What a testimony and what an example! This is the woman whose heart for God and His people I hope to resemble and make proud. 

If we were created in God's image, we ought to resemble Him. Do you? 


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