In the Dailies

Every Tuesday I post a “Mama Loves” based on Philippians 4:8-9. The Message paraphrases those verses like this:

“I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”

Focusing on the positive, as this verse urges us to do, doesn’t mean life is rosy. It doesn’t mean our lives are void of negative things or that we’re so surrounded by wonderful things that we can’t help but rejoice. No. The writer would not exhort readers to think positively if they were already doing it. He would not spend so much time encouraging them in this direction if it were easy. He challenges us to focus on the best even when faced with the worst. Sometimes, as I often write about on this blog, these true, noble, authentic thoughts are sobering. Sometimes these positive thoughts smack us in the face like a splash of icy water.

Mama loves reflective clones.

This weekend I lost my cool with Ellie. I love that girl more than anything, but sometimes she drives me crazy! A precocious know-it-all, she never runs out of energy and never stops talking. She always has a “better” idea, constantly corrects those around her (whether necessary or not), and is completely undisciplined when it comes to jobs she doesn’t thoroughly enjoy. She won’t give up until she gets her way. She’s melodramatic. She acts dumb in an attempt to charm people and shy when I know she’s not. She allows fear to paralyze her.

She’s my clone.

As I lay in bed still fuming over the day’s interactions, I thanked God for showing me me. How often do I argue with God when I know He’s right? How many times have I tried to remind Him of things I know He could never forget? I pout when I don’t get my way. I think I know everything and verbally prove otherwise on a regular basis. I’m lazy, selfish, bossy, arrogantly persistent and blow things way out of proportion. And yet in spite of all this, or maybe because of all this, God loves me. He loves me unconditionally the same way I love Ellie. She may drive me crazy, but I love her so much it hurts. She’s mine and I am His. 

I thank God for His love for me, but I also thank Him for my reflective clone. Without her how would I see the dangers of my annoying characteristics? How would I recognize my flaws and move toward correcting them in both her and me? Without God giving me someone just like me, how would I be sanctified? Oh, there are ways, I’m sure, but this was a pretty creative solution. Annoying – yes. But wonderfully creative. And effective. I love it.