those ahead of me

You know, as I have lived life it seems I have always had someone just a little ahead of me in life whom I have been able to kind of walk behind. These people have touched my life in so many ways and I have learned so much through them. Some have actually been named a mentor in my life and others have been just going about their own lives without even knowing that I was watching, listening, learning from them. I think as mother's it is really important that we have some older mom's who we can watch, listen as they speak, and learn from. It is even biblical... Titus 2:4 says "These older women should train the younger ones to love their husbands and their children."

I recently watched one of my "unknown older mom's" in church with her family. I have been watching her for years, but this day I saw her showing love to her grumpy and moody father-in-law. She sat on one side of him and as her husband sat on the other side of this man I thought "Wow, I want to be able to love the unlovable in my family the way she does." We all have them don't we? People in our life that are hard to love or difficult to be around. I think God puts these people in our lives on purpose, to really teach us what it means to love at times. Loving shouldn't be easy. Love's depth isn't fully filled until we choose to love the hard ones.

I know I have not loved certain people in my life the way God would want me to. I even justify myself at times saying these people are too grumpy, too mean, too opinionated, too this, or too that. They don't DESERVE my love, right? Well, guess what? I don't deserve God's love. None of us do. And He loves them all. God loves the grumpy, the mean, the judgmental (oh, wait, that's me!). When I see someone like this little bit older mom loving her very moody father-in-law I think to myself "I want to love like that, I want to TRY to love like that." Because here is the thing... not only does God love me and yes I should pay that forward the best i can, but there may be another younger mom watching me. Or even better yet... my kids are watching me. I want them to love people. I want to love people, even the hard ones. So today my friends, my goal for the weeks to come is to show love to those in my life who make it hard. I have my elder mom to thank for inspiring me to love like God more and like me less. As the Bible says... teach the younger generation.