F A M I L Y

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