The Me I Want to See

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I paused beside a crystal lake

Fed by sparkling stream.
So pastoral and peaceful there,
It felt like a sweet dream.
 
I paused to gaze into the lake.
The water, clear as glass,
Reflected back a troubled face
So stark I could not pass.
 
The eyes were filled with frustration,
The brow was creased in strain.
The lips were turned down in a frown
That seemed more ire than pain.
 
I saw the face reflected there
Was not a pleasant me
And I decided I’d become
The me I ought to be.
 
I’ll turn those eyes to God each day
And let him lift my strain.
I’ll seek his voice and heed his word
Until I smile again.
 
I’ll live my life with him in mind,
That I may someday see,
Reflected back within that lake,
The me I ought to be.
 
James 1: 22-25
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.