Scrawled on the Back of a File Folder . . .

Some years ago, I found the following poem hanging on the wall in a waiting room and copied it down on the only paper I had with me - the back of a file folder. I could find no author's name. I filed it away and just recently ran across it. Perhaps some good thoughts to consider as a new school year begins . . .

Help Me Grow



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Please

Be consistent with me,

Then I can trust your words and actions.

 

Comfort me when I'm scared, hurt, or sad,

Then I'll know I'm okay even when I'm not feeling strong or happy.

 

Take responsibility for all your feelings and actions,

Then I also won't blame others and I'll take responsibility for my life.

 

Communicate when you feel hurt or frightened or angry,

Then I'll learn how to constructively deal with my feelings.

Tell me clearly and specifically what you want,
Then I can hear you and I'll also know how to
communicate my needs in a positive way.

Express to me that I'm okay
Even when my words or behavior may not be,
Then I can learn from my mistakes and have healthy self-esteem.

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Balance your life between work and play,
Then I can believe that I can grow up,
be responsible, and still have fun.

Remember what you wanted when you were my age,
Then you'll better understand my needs and interests.

Understand and accept me.
I may be different from you and that's okay.

Treat me as an individual,
Then I'll know that I can be my unique self.

Hug me and tell me that you care about me,
Then I'll feel lovable and I'll express caring to others.

Thank you for hearing me.
I love you!

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Finding Focus

"Can you wait a minute, hon?" someone from the ER asked as she pointed to a wheelchair and turned her attention to another patient.
 
"Uh . . . sure." I tried to breath as I lowered my bulky self into the chair. I had been in labor all day and had no intention of arriving early enough to walk the halls as I had done with my firstborn. By now, the clock read 9:35 p.m. Maybe I'd waited too long.
 

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Finally, after a bumpy elevator ride, I somehow got into a hospital gown and stumbled toward the bed. A quick check revealed it was time . . . time to push. But the contractions, one on top of the other, got the best of me. I lost my focus.
 
The nurse gently took my face in her hands, looked me in the eye, and spoke calmly and firmly. "Sarah! It won't be long now. Come on. You can do this."
 
That's all I needed. Less than thirty minutes later, we welcomed our beautiful Sharon Joy into the world. I cuddled her close and focused on her tiny face. Twenty-nine years ago today. Happy Birthday, Sharon!
 
Sometimes, life's circumstances seem a little like birthing a baby. Maybe we've been working on a project for a long time. Or, a difficult relationship seems to be wearing on us. Or, keeping up our health regime seems overwhelming. Or, it seems like forever until we will finally finish an important goal. It's easy to feel panicky, to lose our bearings. Maybe all we need is for someone to encourage us, to help us focus.

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Today, let's find someone to encourage. We all need to hear: "It won't be long now. You can do this. I know you can."

An unnamed New Testament author must have needed a little focus, too, when he wrote, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith . . . Consider him . . . lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."(Hebrews 12:2).

Need a little focus today? Look up!

The Measure of a Woman . . .

I discovered these words posted on the bulletin board in a local gynecologist's office:

A woman is often measured by the things she cannot control. She is measured by the way her body curves or doesn't curve, by where she is flat or straight or round. She is measured by 36-24-36 and inches and ages and numbers, all by the outside things that don't ever add up to who she is on the inside. And so if a woman is to be measured, let her be measured by the things she can control, by who she is and who she is trying to become . . .

Reminds me of a parallel idea penned by Robert S. McGee. "If we know who we are, we will not try to become someone else in order to have value and meaning in our lives. . . . God has given us a secure self-worth totally apart from our ability to perform. We have been justified and placed in right standing before God through Christ's death on the cross . . ."*

Who we are and who we are becoming goes far beyond statistics or performance. God's measure of a woman--or a man or a teen or a child--is based on the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of Christ.

Your thoughts?

 *The Search for Significance, pages 44, 46