Kindness and Mercy
Who are your role models? I mean really. Who in your life do you look up to and try to copy?
The image in my mind when I think of mimicking a role model is the scene in “The Sandlot” when the young mad stands at the plate and points his bat deep into the outfield, https://media.giphy.com/media/l4FB8nZl1tXiHTK9y/giphy.gif He is obviously copying the behavior of someone he looks up to, Babe Ruth.
As we grow up, we tend to let go of the practice of having a role model. Why is this? We certainly don’t know everything and still have a lot of bad habits which we should change - of course when I say “we” I am really just talking about ME and hoping I’m not alone here!
Even though the words in this image are not specifically scripture, instead words I pieced together to create the closing prayer to end our weekly scripture study but that doesn’t make them any less true. If I am able to be more kind to others and show them mercy, then it WILL be a whole lot easier for me to forgive someone who has hurt me. And on the other side of the coin, I WILL be able to be aware of a hurt I’ve caused another person and ask them to forgive me for my bad behavior.
Now, my role models are people like Gianna Beretta Molla and Teresa of Avila but I often feel I fall short and doubt if people would even recognize their characteristics in me. Also, since not everyone knows who these two women are, it is probably better for me to mimic John the Baptist and point to Jesus!