"She looks just like her Daddy."

Its Mothers Day in Thailand right now, but as God would have it, this post is going to be a little bit more about my Dad than my Mom. Sorry Mom! hehe.

When I was really young , a lot of people used to tell me I looked like my dad. I don't remember this, but apparently it used to make me cry. Mom said once I burst into tears and wept as I told her I didn't want to look like a boy. I guess I didn't quite understand the whole "look alike" concept. .. I was young, okay? :P

But now I think I'm beginning to understand it a little bit better. I know I have my Dad's ever-ready smile, his wrinkly forehead, and now, his smile creases that caught my mother's eye on that first day of MK orientation so many, many years ago.

And knowing that I look like my Dad doesn't make me cry anymore. :)

Once I was hanging out with a couple friends in my dorm, when one of them spilled something. typical college student. aha. jokes. anyhow, my room was really close by, so i quickly ran to my paper towel supply, grabbed the nessary amount of that life-saver cleaning solution, got down on my knees and scrubbed away at the mess we had made. (Believe it or not, the purpose of me sharing this story is not to boast about my scrubbing skillz. they are pretty great tho.)
While i was finishing off the scrubbing with a flourish, one of my friends laughed at me and made a comment something along the lines of "Maurissa, why are you always the first one to clean up spills that you didn't even make"
I probably replied with some sarcastic comment like "Oh, you know me. i'm just so perfect and wonderful i wanna help people out." but in my head, i knew the reason i was on my knees cleaning up the mess was cause thats exactly what my Dad would have done.... And not just because he has a touch of OCD (hehe), but because of his servant heart. (another thing that caught mom's attention that crucial first year of college)

My Dad is a wonderful driver. He loves kids, and He is always the first to get down on His knees to clean up someone's spill... and somehow He does it without making them feel like they did anything wrong.
(If you ever want to compliment me, you can tell me that i'm just like that, cause i sure would like to be. or you could tell me that i'm like my mom. :) that works too.)

Today at church, the pastor (who has a voice just like Bill Cosby. is that awesome or what?) started talking about some american tv show i'd never heard of. i didnt get the name, but i'm pretty sure i wouldn't mind going the rest of my life without watching this one. haha. Anyhow. He explained that in the episode he watched, there was this young lady with a 6 month yr old, and they were trying to figure who the baby daddy was. they had one candidate - Frank. And Frank was positive the kid wasn't his. his biggest argument was that apparently the 6 month yr old didn't act like him. that actually kinda suprised me. tehe. but back to the story... the DNA test results came back, and Frank wasn't the daddy. he did a victory dance, and the show concluded.
Its a good thing the pastor quickly moved to the part of his sermon where He related the show to his message, because Shaina and i were beginning to wonder about this country God has called us to.
And heres what Brother Nate (the Bill Cosby guy) had to say:

"I wonder, when people look at you if they can tell .... Who's your Daddy?... When your Daddy is watching you, is He thinking to Himself "Baby, if your mine, why don't you look like your Daddy? Why aren't you acting like your Daddy?"

Several times in my life, i've been told that look just like my daddy, and furthermore, that we act a lot alike. So if thats what Brother Nate had been talking about, i could have left the building with my head held high, a huge smile on my face, and resolve to work on my driving skills.
But thats not at all what He meant. He wasn't talking about my Philip-Daddy. He was talking about my favorite Daddy.. my Jesus-Daddy.
And i have a lot more to work on than my driving abilities.

When I was in England, this overly friendly guy (i mentioned him before) said to me "You must not be from around here because you are so sweet and polite." i thought it was a really funny comment, but it got me thinking - you often can tell where people are from by watching they actions. accents help too. :P

So as i sat there in church, tears slipping down the side of my face as i reflected on how sweet and wonderful and powerful my God-Daddy is .. and how i don't want to disappoint Him, but to take after Him, i decided that the best compliment i could ever receive from an overly friendly stranger would be
"Hey, you must not be from around here. Cause I can tell where your home is - thats Heaven. And I know that cause I can tell who your Daddy is...
You look just like Him."