As I walked into my great uncles beach condo this past week, I noticed an unopened bible on the coffee table. This may not seem out of the ordinary for most people but I immediately got emotional looking at the nascar edition bible that my mom had gotten my great uncle for his 80th birthday, when she had found out that he wasn't a Christian. I rembmer how distressed she has been when she had found out and had made it her mission to subtlety make an impact in his life. This was my mom, a strong Christian woman who desperately wanted everyone to learn about Chrisit's love and amazing power.

My mom experienced Christ's amazing power firsthand as she fought cancer for many years. It was a true miricale that she was able to fight for so long but, my role model and mother was taken to heaven a little over a year and a half ago. I reaized so clearly this past week though, that the way she lived her life is still the example of how I aim to live mine. She taught me so many things and not only did she tell me great advice, but she lived it out for me to see.

The biggest lessons she taught me were to live simply, have faith, and love God and everyone around you with all that you have. It was how she lived her life just very simply always being grateful for another day and ALWAYS reminding me and my dad how much she loved us that makes me want to be a mother and wife just like she was. I never went to bed a single night in 17 and half years without hearing her tell me, "I love you" and she set out everyday to be the best mom she could be. Even when she started getting sicker she was more worried about me than she was herself. She was the most selfless person I have ever met and probaly will ever meet.

I rembmer the day my parents came home from the doctors and told me that my mom had stage 4 lung cancer. I remember how numb I felt. But what I remember most was how confident my mother stated that she had this unimaginable peace that everything was going to be ok. Her faith in God set her apart and everyone she came into contact with saw this light inside her. She knew God would get her through and He did, one time to give her more years on earth and He did again but that time to give her a new life in heaven. I want that type of faith, the faith that can move mountains and touch people's lives.

My mother is my role model because there is no one else in this world who will ever be able to compare to her. She was and is the person I will always want to be like. Every little girl wants to be just like their mom, but my mom was the best (not even sorry if I'm being biased). She poured her heart and soul into loving God first but me and my dad a close second. If I can be half the mother she was to me I will be incredibly happy and my children will be so loved. My mother continues to be my role model because she lived a life that may not have been perfect, but everyday she tried to be a better women than she had been the day before, and that is a life worth imitating.