I am sure that I have mentioned before that I have grandchildren.
If it were not in the days of electronic devices, I would carry around a small photo album rather than a phone full of pictures so that I can show everyone my “grands.” They range in age, with the youngest being just a little over a year old.
Now, I cannot quite tell you what makes experiencing grandchildren different from our own children, but it just is. Somehow, the wonder and amazement that they have for things is more evident to me now than it was with my own children years ago. Whatever the reason, I am so glad that it does, because I would not want to miss a single thing!
Their Poppy and I have enjoyed watching as they have developed into their own personalities.
One is an incredibly happy, go-lucky kind of kid.
One is an artist who is full of empathy.
The other is an extremely competitive protagonist with a sweetheart streak.
The youngest is still learning who he is and what he likes. But, so far, he is a very vocal, sporty kid who is super strong-willed.
The other day he sat down with me in the recliner to watch his favorite show. We had just come back from a ball game where they had stamped our hands with an ink mark so that we could come and go to the event without having to pay twice.
As we sat in the chair, he noticed the mark on his hand. He looked at it for a moment, and then he took my hands, turned them over, and was looking to see if I had the same mark as him. When he saw that I had a matching stamp like his, he went back to watching his show, completely satisfied that he was “just like me.”
I have heard people say many times that when a child looks a lot like their parent, that they’ve “put a stamp on their kid” or that they’ve “put their thumbprint on their kid.” That is so true in his case, because he looks just like his momma!
However, before he even took his first breath, he was already just like someone.
Scripture tells us that before we were ever created in our mother’s womb, God knew us. (Jeremiah 1:5) And, when He created us, he did so in his very own image. (Genesis 5:1) We are just like our heavenly Father!
We may have our own personalities, but inside of each of us, is the ability to love, care, share, give, help, etc. Those very same attributes of our heavenly father, he has placed inside of us.
We should live in such a way that as we grow, those attributes will be evident to those around us. That “stamp” of a godly life will be visible for everyone to see. So that when others look at us, they will see just how much we are like Jesus.
May we all strive to “Be imitators of God, as beloved children.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Dawn Hayes is mother of 4, grandmother to 3 and she and her husband pastor at New Hope Assembly of God in Senatobia. She has been writing “Sips from the Well” since 2015.
