My Family to Me
What is my family to me?
A surrounding of true friends
A strength and support
Laughing and crying together
When my other friends depart
My family stays nearby
Encouraging and being there
To lend me a helping hand
Seeing all my imperfections,
They still love me
And choose not to dwell
On every single fault
On every single fault
They choose not to dwell
I know they love me
Despite all my imperfections
To lend me a helping hand,
They encourage and are there for me
And remain nearby
While my other friends depart
Laughing and crying together
They are my strength and support
I am surrounded by good friends
That is my family to me
Looking in the Mirror
I look curiously in the mirror
And see a timid pale face looking back
With attentive blue eyes staring at me
Thoughts swirl as a whirlpool within my mind
What type of things about them do others see?
What things are seen of which I am blind?
Does it feed my vanity or my worth?
What is so special in this watching face?
A puzzled expression watched intently
As it asked me the same inquired questions
It watched and waited to hear my answers
In silence we exchanged reflective thoughts
I suddenly beheld the eyes twinkle
A brilliant light radiated from them
And instantly I in amazement saw
That once pale face glowing in rare beauty
Its bright light touched and expanded my heart
Enlightening within my small body
And cleansing with wonderful burning warmth
What heavenly views were opened to me!
Now I saw not what other people saw
But something much more precious and valued
A sight I saw within my burning heart
Like a quick glimpse through our savior’s pure eyes
Such amazing wonders did I witness
As I felt suddenly His eyes on me
What abilities that I never knew
And the amount of potential He saw!
Now whenever in that mirror I see
That timid pale blue eyed face looking back
I see not only my own reflection
But His eyes shining deep inside of me
Commentary:
My Family to Me I was raised in a close knit family, including extended, especially on my Dad's side. A good part of my childhood memories are visiting and playing with my cousins. Perhaps as a young child I took for granted the position my family held in my life. The numbers grew large, and several of us began to feel swallowed up in the crowd; however, there was always someone there who made sure you were recognized. The family had gone through many struggles, including a significant one involving the loss of a brother/son in an accident while he was still a child. These struggles taught them early on the value of families, and so we all grew up quite close. Even our cousins, who were born and raised in Norway, were included with open arms when they were able to visit. As I grew older, I began to realize the value of family as I looked back at the years when I struggled in school with having friends. There was a year or two when I had none, but because of the support and strength from the family, those years never ended up as miserable as they could have been.Looking in the Mirror This poem was written based on a memory I had while I was young and I was getting ready to go somewhere. I'm not sure what brought it on, or if it was sudden inspiration, but I remember standing in front of the mirror, probably putting mascara on, and looking into my own eyes in the mirror. For a brief moment I saw the beauty in my face and realized that all those years that I thought I was ugly weren't true. There were obvious flaws there, and my eyes weren't as large as I'd like, but the beauty seemed to spread beyond the looks. I wrote this poem in reflection of that memory.
