Hi, and Happy Monday! :-) Before we get to this week's Monday Moment with Mimi, I wanted to take a quick minute to tell you that I just finished another Fairy Tale Fun Pack. This one focuses on the story of the Princess and the Pea and contains learning activities that are both rigorous and adorable for elementary students. Stop by one of my online stores below to see for yourself.
Enjoy this week's post from Mimi about my own little princess, Sadie. I love Mimi's challenge to us to live lives worthy of being imitated! Have a great week! Shannon :-)
Ballet Pictures on the Wall
Have you ever been actively engaged in
something, and suddenly you had a vivid remembrance—a sudden flashback of a fun
time in your life, a time well spent that made your heart smile? I don’t mean just an incident that happened
in your life, but an era of your life.
It happened to me Saturday as I was
shopping for special ballet tights with my daughter and granddaughter, Sadie. I recalled my many, many years of dance
recitals, with elaborate costumes, invigorating music, and yes, my own cherished
special tights.
At that young age, we were just a room full
of silly, laughing, little girls—little girls that had grandiose dreams and
aspirations of the day that we would all star in great performances of Swan
Lake on stages of our choosing. We all
were future prima donna ballerinas in our minds and in our hearts!!!!
Pictures of truly great dancers were hung along
the walls of the studio that I faithfully attended—pictures that one day surely
would include us. We walked with confidence
down the halls to our ballet practice rooms.
We proceeded to our designated areas and grasped the wooden exercise bars
that were attached to a long wall. We would
begin our warm-up routines in silence.
In that moment we became our dreams, as we imitated the moves of the
many graceful dancers pictured along the walls!!!! Ahhhh, memories…
When we came back to the house on Saturday,
Sadie continued to allow me to bask in my precious memories as she excitedly
ran to change into her complete attire in order to model for me. As the bathroom
door swung open, she entered my den with all the grace of a true “wanna be” ballerina.
Her leotard was in place; complete with her
recently purchased tights. Her small
pink ballet shoes were on her tiny feet—and she was dancing. In that moment she too became her dream as she
imitated the beautiful dancers in her mind!!!!
Whether it is from simply a picture on a
wall or a visual from the recesses of their own little minds, how wonderful it
is when a child excitedly breaks forth and accurately imitates others actions! From the pirouettes of a ballerina to the final touchdown run
of a football hero, children are all emulating actions…as they see them!!!!
And oh, how we smile when our little ones
are copying our own familiar stances or expressing our common sayings. As our children grow, why not purpose ourselves
to live lives worth imitating? Actions copied from a way of life lived in
front of them that is wholesome, healthy, and true. Moves that we make that edify goodness.
As Sadie posed for me so that I could capture her
special moment with a picture, I thought how truly wonderful it would be if all
of us were just as excited about posing as an imitator of Christ. Like I once focused my little eyes as I grasped
the wooden workout bar in ballet, so also let my focus now be on engaging in a
performance that is worthy of being imitated by those around me…a life spent
imitating Jesus. Blessings, Mimi (AKA Anne)
Philippians 2:3-5 “Do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above
yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests
of the others. In your relationships
with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
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