My Role Models:

I was doing a Bible study recently, and I was learning about King David.  The author of the Bible study guide mentioned that King David, while one with flaws, was his role model.  Then the question was who was my role model.  I realized that I don’t have just one person that I model my life after.  Yes, Jesus, of course, but when talking about “people” role models, I couldn’t list just one.  I have been so blessed to have so many people in my life that have influenced me and the characteristics that they have that I want to one day possess in my own life.  

One person of course is my mom.  If you have read a lot of my blog posts, then you know that my mom is my best friend and my favorite person in the whole world.  My two favorite qualities about my mom are her honesty and her thoughtfulness.  I have always loved how honest she is.  She will tell you what she is feeling.  She will give you her genuine thoughts and feelings.  I know that honesty is important and being willing to tell people your true opinions is something that should be valued in this world.  She is also thoughtful.  She thinks of others and what she can do for them constantly.   She is always buying her friends gifts, making them meals, and reaching out to them when they are sad.

Another person is my grandma.  Something that I absolutely love about my grandma is that she is generous.  She loves to give to those who need it.  She loves to give to a good cause.  This has always inspired me and my mother to be conscious of where our money is going and what we can be doing with it.  She never cared much about possessions.  She knows that you don’t need the nicest things in order to live a good life.  She cared more about living simple and making sure that those she loves and cares about are well taken care of and loved.  

Thirdly is Jess. She was always someone that I looked up to when I was living and working at Storm Lake.  She is so kind and she cares so much about the kids that she was serving in Storm Lake.  She was intentional.  She put aside time to serve and be with the kids and the girls she was discipling.  The first summer after she moved to India, and I worked at the Bridge without her, I tried to be as intentional with the kids as she was.  Laying down in my trailer, and I would hear the kids come from my neighborhood and knock, I would gather up some energy and spend some extra time outside, even past the work hours with the kids that God had called me to serve.  This has been a good reminder as I have become a teacher.  Sometimes, we have to be selfless with our time to really spend with those around us that we love.  

Fourthly is Shelly.  Shelly is God-fearing.  She loves Jesus and seeks to be his light wherever she goes.  She is also very kind and sweet.   However, my favorite part about her is her positivity.  She is always trying to be a ray of sunshine to the people around her, and she is always trying to be the sunshine in a rainy or a dark situation.  I know that must take a lot of strength and determination.  There are a lot of rough situations and not letting it get the most of you is pretty amazing.  Her positivity is contagious and many around her seek to find the positive after talking with her.

A fifth person I admire and look up to is Hillary.  Hillary is my best friend.  We met in college, and what is odd is that she was put into a class that I was tutoring in, and then she wanted to join a Bible Study that I was leading.  Even though, she then was one that God had put in my life to help lead, her compassionate and empathetic heart is one that I often find completely admirable.  She cares about people so deeply.  She weeps when they have pain and she is filled with joy when they are happy and are successful.  She is also a prayer warrior and is so great at spending time praying for others around her.  She takes time with the Lord seriously.  I am glad when we have deep conversations about the Word together.  

There are so many more people in my life who have provided me with a great deal of inspiration.  There have been so many teachers that I have worked with who I want to be more like.  There are so many prayer warriors that I want to pray like.  There are strong Christian men and women who I have learned life lessons from.  This also reminds me of the verses that I have memorized of Hebrews 10:24-25 which says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  This is a good reminder that we are to encourage one another and help sharpen one another to be the best people that we can possibly be.  It is important to care about one another’s well-being and to love each believer to help them grow.  None of us are perfect, but we are all given qualities from the Lord that will help one another.  Who are your role models? I hope you have as many as I do. You also never know, you could be a role model for someone in your own life.