Traits I Want to Instill in Lily

I've been thinking a lot lately about the things I hope for Lily as she grows up. I don't wish for her to love volleyball like me, or that she'll do certain things with her life, make certain grades, or be good at certain things. I think mainly about the type of character she'll have. This has been weighing on my mind a lot lately as she starts to understand more and more about what goes on around her. I don't want to wait for the day she understands something, and start teaching her lessons at that point. Why not start now? Then she'll never have a memory of it being any other way.

My sister-in-law, Jen, passed on an article to me when I was pregnant called "10 Things to Pray for Your Children". I typed up an abbreviated version and framed it above her changing table in our old house. It's in storage right now with most of our other belongings, but I used to pick something on the list every time I changed her and prayed for that particular thing. The article is here: 10 Things to Pray for Your Children

If anyone wants the abbreviated version to print and hang, just let me know and I can send it to you.
It is a great list for any Christian parents who wants be prayer warriors for their child. It lists several character traits that I hope for Lily.
These traits are the main ones that have been on my mind as of late:

1. Love for God.

God says if we love Him that we will obey Him. My hope is that her love for God will outweigh her love for anything else in life, and that she'll believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, and live her life according to what it says. I hope she won't see her faith as a "religion", but as a way of life, that effects every thought, every act, and every decision she makes.

2. Faith in God.

Everyone makes mistakes, but I want her to understand that God is the One who will never let her down. He will always be there for her, He will always love her, and she is never alone in anything she may be faced with. Her trust should be in Him, because He is in control of every second.

3. Love for others.

There's not much that bothers me more than judgement. Not that I haven't ever judged, or don't still catch myself judging, but I hope I've come a long way as I've gotten older. Community is so important to me - maybe because I'm a woman, maybe because I'm a mother. I believe God made us to desire to be in communion with those around us.

No matter what mistakes a person makes, that person is still a child of God and He loves that person just as much as any other. I hope that she'll look past sins to see the sinner, that she'll always have her eyes open for needs and be willing to help meet them, that she'll never be so busy that she isn't available to others (I've been there!), and that she'll have a servant's heart. I hope she's kind to all who cross her path, and in being so, is an example of the love and forgiveness that God has shown to her.

4. Manners

I hope that she'll respect authority and others around her, that she'll be slow to anger, and that she'll never allow the way she might be treated to effect how she treats others.

And I pray that God will give me the strength to be all of these things myself - to be a wise mother - one she can look up to and be proud of.