Copy Cat

Sunday School was about to start; but my niece, Zoe, was signaling me from across the room. I walked over to where she was sitting and leaned down to hear her whisper, “I itch, Auntie Laura, just like you.”

With this bit of knowledge imparted to me, I sat through Sunday School wondering what she meant. How did she know my allergies were driving me crazy and my skin was crawling? Horrors, had she seen me scratching my arms and rubbing my nose?

Mom cleared things up for me a little later. Zoe had spent the night at her grandpa and grandma’s house. An absolute meltdown ensued when Zoe had to put on an itchy dress for church. “She was crying,” mom said, “just like when I used to make you wear that wool skirt when you were little. I told Zoe about the fit you threw when I made you wear it.”

“Oh yeah,” I said, “I’ll never forget that thing. It was awful – so itchy.”

“I was a little annoyed,” mom informed me.

I wondered if she was thinking back to when I was little or to the storm of tears she’d endured that morning.

“At the same time, I was kind of amused,” she continued. “She really is an awful lot like you.”

Little girls have a way of wanting to be just like their aunties; and well, quite frankly anyone they admire. Zoe’s desire to be just like me was driven home as later that day she sat by me in church and drew a picture of two stick people – a girl and a lady. Above them were names: Auntie Laura and Zoe. She had titled this amazing work of art “The Same.”

I was struck with the responsibility I bear of being a good example for my niece. Here’s a little girl that wants to be just like me. If I complain, cheat, or gossip, she’s watching and thinks it’s ok to do those things too. If I’m sweet, kind, and honest, she will likely want to be that way because she looks up to me.

Paul wrote in I Corinthians 11:1 “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

Are you worth imitating? If you’re not striving to be like Christ, the answer is no. As you walk through each day, ask yourself, would I be ashamed if someone were to say that they’d copied me today?

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