I Want To Be Just Like?

Greetings,
How many of us remember the commercial "I want to be just like Mike"?This commercial had to do with Michael Jordan,the basketball player,and because of his basketball skills we should desire to be just like him.
I've been refining my thought process through the years and have come to the conclusion that In my truly younger years ,even though I was not aware of it ,I wanted to be just like my dad,further more,my mother was the standard for what a woman should be.Let's see if I can "flesh out" why most of us end up with many of the positive/negative traits of our parents.I will start from our birth beginning;most of us have had a typical child hood;nurtured and raised by our birth mother and father.Our parents met most of our needs from the time we were born until the time we leave their home and "strike out" on our own,oops,that could be a Freudian slip!!I have concluded that our parents are the"adult" foundation we want to emulate as we grow into our own adult life.You might ask why is that?My opinion follows;my dad was the first adult male in my life;at some point in my cognitive brain activity,I thought he represented what a man was supposed to act like with his neighbors,relatives and friends,how a father treated and loved his children,how a husband loved and treated his wife.The same is true regards my mother,what a woman was supposed to be as a wife and a mother.I ask you to pause reading this letter now and concentrate on this last paragraph.Can you "see"the influence your parents have had on you, as an adult, because they were the first "grown ups" in your life?I wonder how much better a parent we would have been or can be, if we looked at ourselves through the eyes of our children!I am not writing a letter to cast aspersions on my parents, that all my flaws as an adult rests on their shoulders;what I AM saying is ;if we as adults would recognize more consistently that our children are watching and emulating what we do in the most formative time of their life perhaps we would change some of our actions and decisions in that light.
The writing of this letter started from the experience I have had coaching and refereeing basketball in our church's "Upward Basketball" program.This is a Christian program for boys and girls using basketball and cheer leading as a tool to bring children and family's' the word and love of God.The children are taught the basics of playing basketball,cheer leading skills and teamwork involved,also ,how to develop a "Christ Like" attitude.Passages from the Bible are learned with the goal of the child learning who God is and that Jesus died on the cross for all of us .The family of each child is asked to participate in all aspects of the program.What a blessing this program has been for me,and a further recognizing of the impact we adults can and do have on our children.To "bottom line"this letter 'Upward" has reminded me ,once again,that ALL of us need to be more "CHRIST LIKE" in our dealings with our fellow man,and particularly ,with our children and young adults in our life.Remember,they are watching us and looking to emulate!WHO DO YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE JUST LIKE?
Until next time,remember,God is with us always,are we emulating Jesus in our thoughts and actions?with Christian love,Joe