Traces of Life

My two year old daughter has started using a new phrase.  For a while she has expressed her delight with something by saying "I like it."  She would point at her undersized chair and say, "I like it."  If she got mac and cheese for lunch, she would tell us "I like it."  But over the last couple of weeks, she has begun to use a new phrase - "That's cool."  When she got some new shoes the other day, she told us repeatedly that they were "cool." 

Young talkers reveal a lot about the people they imitate.  And because of my daughter, I am now terribly conscious about using the word "cool."  While that word has been rolling off my tongue, to hear my daughter say it makes me feel like a big ol' dork.  It's hard to accept the truth!  But more than that, her new phrase has made me very conscious that she is continually adopting my life patterns. 

Over the last few years of his life, Jesus was very deliberate about passing on his life patterns.  During his last hours of freedom, Jesus got together with some of his best friends and taught them about greatness.  He didn't give them a motivational speech or bolster their personal dreams.  Instead, he performed a menial task for them. He served them.  He washed their feet and told them that they would find great living if they did the same for others.

I doubt two year olds think of greatness very often, but I wonder what my daughter is learning about great living from me.  I don't know what she would say if she saw me "washing the feet" of someone else.  But I feel like if we saw God with wet hands and a towel around his waist, we would both say, "That's cool."