REPLICATE OR DUPLICATE?

"I thought about the whole notion of “reproduction”, and what it really means to replicate yourself. Is it merely about the passing on of eyes and chins and hair color? Or is it, rather, the replication of the heart? Do we leave a bigger mark by passing on our genes, or our thoughts?” Shannon Woodwar, author of Inconceivable:Finding Peace in the Midst of Infertility”

My grandson is so much like his mother. I see many of the characteristics of my daughter in my 9 year old granddaughter. My oldest granddaughter thinks like her father. My oldest grandson is a combination of both sides of the family (the best part). In different situations people have indicated that both of my granddaughters look like me or like each other. Is that true? Who can say? Much like beauty, it is often in “the eyes of the beholder” One grandchild probably thinks and reacts to things much like I do. I don’t always understand one grandson’s initial reaction, but his deep-down thoughts are good and reflect his parents’ beliefs.

I want to believe that each of these grandchildren will take my attitude towards life and my faith in God to become even stronger and better individuals because of what I have passed on to them. Physical characteristics have very little importance in the overall scheme of God’s plan. God’s gift to us is His Son and our gift to the world around us is to show that love and leave that mark. The mark we leave in this world (whether on our children or the children of the world) is important only if it is the mark of love and God’s Word in the heart of those we are allowed to influence. As a footnote to the opening thought: It might be interesting to note that two of those grandchildren are biological grandchildren and two of them are adopted grandchildren. And even those who know us can not always tell which child is the replication of my heart and which the replication of my physcial body. My desire is that "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy" in my heart it will be duplicated over and over in theirs. And if that happens then I have left the biggest mark I can leave on my children and my grandchildren whether they be biological or of the heart.