Finding A Mature Perspective

Today I was reading a manual on nursing home ministry and came across this poem.  I thought it was worth sharing.   

LOOK CLOSER AND SEE THE REAL ME
(Found in a geriatric ward of a hospital in Scotland - author unknown)

What do you see, tell me, what do you see?Who are you seeing when you look at me?A crabby old woman, not very wise,Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes Who seems not to notice the things that you do,And forever is losing a stocking or shoe.Is that what you're thinking? Is that what you see?Then open your eyes, for you're not seeing me.

I'll say who I am as I sit here so still,As I rise at your bidding and eat at your will.I'm a small child of 10 with a father and mother,Sisters and brothers who love one another.A young girl of 16 with wings on her feet,Dreaming that soon her true sweetheart she'll meet.A bride at just 20, my heart gives a leap,Remembering the vows I promised to keep.At 25, now I have babes of my own Who need me to build a secure happy home.A woman of 30, my children grow fast,Bound to each other with ties that will last.At 40, my grown-up sons will be gone,But my man stays beside me to see I don't mourn.At 50, once more babies play round my knee,Again we know children, my loved one and me.Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,I look at the future, I shudder with dread.My children are busy with babes of their own,I think of the years and the love I have known.

I'm an old woman now, grace and vigor depart,But thousands of memories live in my heart.Inside it, you see, a girt still dwells,And now and again my tired heart swells.I remember the joy, I think of the pain,And I'm loving and living life over again.So open your eyes, please open and see.Not a crabby old woman, look closer-see me!*

I think it is a good perspective to ponder.  Makes me really think about how I view those further down life's path. 

~Trev


You can find a free downloadable copy of this nursing home ministry manual at: 
faithfulfriends.org

             * Tom McCormick and Penny McCormick, Nursing Home Ministry: a Manual (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1987), 14.