Family Ain't Easy

The simple fact is family
Will never be easy.
We stand so close for all our lives
That we often can't see
The thorns we hide from most strangers
We share with family.

We've known each other for so long
We often do not hear
The painful words and thoughts we share
With those we hold most dear.

We see the faults that we watched grow
In those who shared our life,
While somehow failing to notice
The thorns of our own strife.

Each blossom in the flower bed
Has beauty, that is real.
Yet, standing so close brings in view
The thorns they each conceal,
And those closest, most deeply cut,
Bear scars they'll always feel.

We can't neglect to forgive those
Who grew up by our side.
For we can't trim another's thorns
By using our own pride.

Those thorny blossoms shared the life
In which you learned to bloom,
And if their thorns prick now and then,
Just give them extra room.

For family is always hard, 
But they're right by your side
Through all the storms and droughts that come,
With hearts and arms stretched wide.
It might be time to love the blooms
And let the thorns abide.

Hoses 2:1
"Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.