Tuesday, November 6, 2007

F-A-M-I-L-Y

F A M I L Y
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."
By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?

So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing this. My sisters and I were raised to treat our family members better than anyone else and all of us have tried to live up to this. And have you ever noticed that how you treat your family reflects on how you really handle others?

babydoe said...

It is so true that we never know what changes the day will bring to us or our families. 25 years ago, when my husband was only 36, he and I got ready for work, got our son ready for daycare (he was 3), ate, and then we kissed each other goodbye and headed out in separate directions for another routine day at work. Little did I know that this morning would be the last we would all have together. On this day, my husband of 13 years had a massive heart attack just as he pulled into the parking garage at his office. There is not one day in the 25 years since that I am not thankful that we had that final kiss that morning and he was able to hug our son one last time.

Pink Lemonade Liz said...

Okay, you made me cry....thank you so much for this...sometimes we all need to rethink our priorities in life.

Xandra said...

i used a few of your skelegance things in a lo for a challenge
http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=14950

Anonymous said...

Your blog is very nice and I have enjoyed it before. However, maybe because I am one of the seniors that scrap, the dark sites have become impossible. Cannot read them and am very disappointed. Even more so when I read the comments here as it appears that I am missing a touching story. Thanks anyway for your time and expertise in sharing. Do like the new music that you have added.

Jester's Tear said...

Thank you for this Derek. I am often guilty of acting this way to my older son (he's 9, and his brother 13 months old), and this poem touched me.

I know he knows both me and my husband love him dearly, we often say it and he often reassures us that yes, he does know, and all his "family" drawings involve lots of hearts and hugs and kisses, but that still doesn't give us the right to speak harshly to him when he has done nothing to deserve it.

I forwarded this to my husband, and we both agreed to make tonight a very special night for our son, and to be kinder from now on.

Thank you, Derek.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful.