OUR MONTANA BETH

“Middle age is when you’ve met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.” --Ogden Nash

Old Ogden may be right, but this has been happening to me for years, long before I reached mid-life (just a few!!) years ago. Because I mention so often that this person or that person looks or acts or talks like another, it’s pretty much considered just another “mom-thing” in our family.

However, when both my husband and I recently encountered our good    Florida friend, Beth, working as a guide at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch in Deer Lodge, Montana—now that was more than just a “mom-thing” - that was a “something!”

No, Beth was not really in Montana. But her doppelganger was. (In German, the word “doppelganger” literally means “double-goer.”  In some traditions it’s seen as a thing of bad luck or impending doom, but in contemporary use it merely identifies someone who physically or behaviorally resembles someone else.) This Beth Doppelganger served as our docent for the Grant-Kohrs ranch house tour. She smiled and laughed like our Beth, sounded like our Beth, possessed facial expressions like our Beth and had mannerisms like our Beth. In fact, I think I will have to ask our Beth if she has any cousins working for the    National Park Service in Montana! As we were leaving, I turned to my husband and said, “Who did she remind…” Before I could finish he smiled and replied, “Beth!”

She wasn’t Beth, of course. But because this guide was manifesting some of the same Beth-like          characteristics (like kindness, humor, joy, as well as some similar physical attributes) - we thought of Beth. We were reminded of Beth.

All of this made me think: do I remind others of anyone, especially of Jesus? Do people think of Him when they talk to me or think of me? When they witness my actions or when they hear of something I’ve done?

The Bible tells believers that they are to walk like Jesus (I John 2:6), love like Jesus (I John 3:16) and live like Jesus (Philippians 1:21). The Apostle Paul urged the Ephesians to “be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us…”

A young man named Drew, age 8,  says: "My grandma reminds me of God's love because she always reads the Bible, and she loves us. She is always kind to other people, and always says 'please' and 'thank you.'" Eight year old John’s grandpa takes him fishing. And cooks “awesome eggs.” Patrick’s mom reminds him of God’s love “because she will never stop. Also, because she loved me first like God." Doing what’s right. Honoring God. Being kind and caring. Thinking of  others. Constancy. Faithfulness and fidelity. And love, pure love—in action. If we name the name of Christ, those things are to show, like they do in Him.

I don’t know if my friend, Beth’s, Montana doppelganger knows Jesus but I know Beth does. It shows, and I think of Him when we’re with her. My prayer is to be a “double-goer” with Him, too, wherever I go—and I want it to show!