Don't Wanna Be Like Mike!

"Religion  that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
                                                 -James 1:27
 "Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves."
                                               - Romans 12:10


I just threw a bouquet away.  I didn't want to, but it was dead.  It was the most beautiful bouquet I think I have ever seen.  All white....lilies, daisies, roses, lily of the valley......breathtaking.  It had a white bow with a ribbon attached to it that said "friend".  It was sent upon the death of my mom by someone who inspired this post.
    
My mom lived to be 92.  We were blessed to have her that long- but losing someone is NEVER easy no matter when it is.  Thankfully, my God has been with me every step of the way.  This post isn't to write about her death, however.  It's to tell you about a part of her life and the impact this has had in my life.

We are all busy.  Even with my children grown and my husband and I in retirement, sometimes it seems like I have less time than I did when I was younger.  We ALL are too busy.  After my dad died, my sister and I did our best to fill in the gaps for our mom.  We'd take her places, play Rummicub (she was extremely competitive).....and my sister saw her every day at least once or twice.  We did our best---and yet I know she was lonely.  She had bridge club, pinochle, church activities, and volunteering.  As she got older, some of those things stopped because it just got to be too much . Many (if not most) of her old friends had passed away.  I know she craved companionship.  She really had no one to just "hang out" with anymore.

Enter Norma.  Norma is at least 15 years younger than mom, maybe more.  For some reason, they developed a fast friendship.  Mom loved spending time with Norma.  She'd tell us all about it- the drives they took, shopping trips, trying new places to eat.  Mom enjoyed their time together immensely, and she always looked forward to it.  But I think there was a deeper significance here.  I think the friendship made my mom feel valued.   Even though she was older and couldn't do everything she used to, there was still a peer, not a relative, who enjoyed her company.  Someone who was willing to take the time to take her places, be with her, and just enjoy time spent together.  This friendship was a gift given to my mom that I will never forget.

Isn't this part of what our Lord asked us to do?  To take care of the widows and orphans?  To be kind to others, no matter what the cost?  I've been thinking about this a lot since mom died.  I've looked at those lovely flowers each day, and thanked God for sending Norma to my mother.  I believe she was the hands and feet of Jesus to my mom.  I wonder who needs me to be those hands and feet?  Who is lonely, afraid, mad, or downhearted that could use a friend right now?  Is there someone I could bless in this way?

Our society idolizes sports celebrities, rock stars, politicians...people who are well known, powerful, and rich.  The saying "I wanna be like Mike" was a national advertising slogan saying people should ascribe to being great like Michael Jordan, with  money and fame being the ultimate measurement.  But I don't think I wanna be like Mike.  I think I wanna be like Norma.  I wanna be like the thousands of people who do countless acts of kindness and mercy in His name. I wanna be like Jesus.

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