Monday, August 21, 2006

Family


Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Painting "Family Ties" by Ellen Briggs
http://www.briggsink.com/design/watercolors.htm

A little something that someone sent me today, I thought I'd pass on in case it touched someone the way it touched my heart!

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

UPDATE: I'd like to link you to Dee at All the While. She has a really nice post on enjoying her children which really relates to my post. And give her a nice hello. She just started to blog in July. So welcome Dee!

10 comments:

Susannah said...

Excellent thoughts, thanks. I especially like the acronym: FAMILY.

Shawna said...

Oh, that can be true, being kinder to a stranger. That's so sad.

Dianne said...

That is so true. I always think of that goofy song, "You always hurt the one you love." Thanks for the reminder today, to treat those closest to me the best.

uuu said...

AMAZING -- so fitting to my thoughts today!! It is so easy to take for granted those you love.

Girl Raised in the South said...

It's so so easy to forget that serving the Kingdom begins within our four walls. Thanks for the reminder.

Heather Smith said...

I've gotten this e-mail before, and sadly it is too true! We should definitely pay close attention to the way we treat those we love! I did your meme on my funny blog! Check it out!

Beck said...

Sniff. That's sweet - and a good reminder to be kinder to the people who really matter to us.

Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

Thanks for the reminder. And I love the sweet picture. :>))

Islandsparrow said...

Good thoughts Suzanne - thanks for sharing.

Overwhelmed! said...

Susanne, this post truly brought tears to my eyes. How easily we can forget to treat those closest to us with absolute love and respect. Thanks so much for the reminder.

I love the definition of Family. I'm sending that to my husband. :)

Now, I'm off to Dee's.