The Kind of Woman I Want to Be

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the kind of woman I want to be.

There's a woman at my work named Judy.  She's one of my favorite coworkers.  She's not a Christian, but if you could get to heaven by good works, she would be there in a heartbeat.  She's the kind of person who will always go out of her way to help you.  Even if she's busy, and it's not in her job description, and she doesn't know the answer, she will still drop everything and help you figure it out.  She's the kind of person who always shows up with little gifts and trinkets because "I saw this, and I just thought of you..."  She's the one who always remembers the birthdays, and holidays, and special occassions, and celebrates with decorations, cards, or cakes as needed.  She's the kind of person who not only brings doughnuts to the office, but when she hears you mention that you like the blueberry doughnuts, she always remembers to include a blueberry one in the box.  She so rarely speaks ill of some one, that when she does, you know something must really be wrong.  And even when everything at work is extremely hectic and stressful, she still keeps an upbeat attitude and helps us remember to laugh.  Last week, she received the Values in Action award for Service, and I can't think of anyone more deserving.

Add to this description, some elements of Pastor David's sermon on Sunday about loving others as Jesus loved us, and there you have the woman I want to be.  Some one who shows God's love in every action and word, always thinking of others and serving.

But I fall so short.  So very short.  Lately, I've been having trouble just taking care of my family and keeping my house tidy, and I never even remember to send birthday cards to my nieces and nephews. And I'm very selfish. And I definitely complain. A lot.

So how do I get from here to there?