Being Who God Made Us to Be

Hello Friends,

While thinking about the upcoming Fathers’ Day weekend, I couldn’t help but think back to March 27, 2001; a day that changed my life forever! That was the day I was given the great blessing (and great responsibility) of being a father.

As our son began to grow and develop, we began to notice things about how he looked, who he looked like, how he reacted to the world around him. And many times, a comment would be made that something about him looks just like either mom or dad. It seems that we as parents are busy looking for the ways our children are either like mom or like dad.

We expect to see many similarities, since our children are made up of the combination of our DNA. We see some things that look like one spouse and other things that look like the other spouse. But then we see those things that make us wonder, “Where did that come from?” The reality is that we sometimes see things that remind us of more distant relatives and sometimes there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to where that trait came from.

I think this is important to remember as we watch them grow and develop. I think sometimes we as parents can get caught in the trap of trying to create a “mini-me” out of our children. And while we know that there is a lot of us evident in their genetic makeup, we need to always remember that they are a unique human being (even identical twins are not truly identical).

Our goal should not be to make them just like us (scary thought when we think about it), but to understand who God made them to be and to encourage them to be the best they can be for God and their fellow man.

Then they will be able to contribute in their own unique way to the world around them. They will be able to honor God and honor others through the sharing of their personality and talents with those around them.

The world doesn’t need another me. It needs me to be the me God made me to be!

Until next time.

All glory be to God,

Tim