HOW DO I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED!

For the last several weeks I have been struggling with my daughter starting 5th grade. She will be in a new school, with new people, and new surroundings. She has been with the same exact class for the last 5 years so this is a huge deal for her. Gracie is a great kid and I trust her to make good decisions while at school. But, we all know this is the age where kids start venturing out to find who they are. I have struggled because I don't want Gracie to get in with the wrong crowd, just to try and fit it with her new friends. Girls can be very mean and this is the age where it starts. I've talked to her about being an example to her peers, and being the bigger person when things go wrong. But, there is still the voice in my head that fears that she will become a "mean girl" just for popularity purposes. On Pinterest, I found an activity where you write things of how you want to be remembered. I have plans to let Gracie do this, so she can look back on it and know the person she needs to always be. I then realized that I needed to do a little "soul searching" and do it too! So, I wrote ten things of how I want people to remember me.

1. Christian - First I need to be a good Christian. I need to be a light so others can see Christ through my life. Matthew 5:16 says - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

2. Be a Good Friend - I don't have many friends, but I do have a few close ones. Those friends are very dear to me. I want them to know that I have there back whenever they need me. 

3. Reliable - I want people to think of me and know that I am always somebody they can count on. I'm hardly ever late and whenever someone asks me to do something I try to give it 100%.

4. Patient - This is one thing I don't have, is the ability to be patient. So, I plan to work on that. I want to be the cool, calm, and collected one. The one who never gets mad or complains.

5. Gentle - This is another one to work on. I grew up with a "shake it off" mantra. Nothing much bothers me, which can be a double edged sword. In one sense it makes me tough. My feelings don't get hurt that much and that's great but... When you have two daughters and a husband that need that gentle touch, I want to be able to give it. 

6. Thoughtful - I love gift giving. Even when it is something small. I love to see the look on people's faces when they know that someone was thinking about them.

7. Loving - This goes hand in hand with gentle! Hugging my family and saying I love you is something that we can all use more of.

8. Trustworthy - I feel like I am pretty trustworthy, but my downfall is gossip (and yes that's pretty embarrassing to say) I really have tried to do better and still have room for lots of improvement. I really can't be considered trustworthy if somebody tells me something and I turn right around and tell somebody else. I don't want to be remembered as a gossip and I sure don't want to teach my children that gossiping is ok. 

9. Kind - I want to be kind and compassionate. I have a horrible habit of looking at the bad in people and getting annoyed with them very easily. Instead of just having a good time and talking with someone, I like to point out all the ways they annoy me and the ways they've wronged me. But, I hope to look over all of that and just be kind. It doesn't cost anything to be kind, but when you're cruel it costs alot of heartache.

10. Confident - On the outside I have all the confidence in the world! On the inside I am constantly berating myself on things I could do differently. For instance church, housework, wife and mother duties. Instead of focusing on all the things I've done right, I always seem to focus on the wrong or my short-comings.

So you see, I have alot to work on with myself. Even more than what I have listed. So I challenge each of you to do the same for yourself. Work on those items listed for a month and then go back and see how you have changed. They say it takes 21 days for something to become a habit. Wouldn't it be great if all the things on our list became habits. What a better place this world would be.