I Am . . .
I am
who I am.
Sometimes
it feels like it is not okay to be me,
when I hurt
and when I cry,
when I am a child alone,
unloved.
That is how it feels . . .
It is not okay to be me.
It feels like I have to be
someone else . . .
but I don’t know who that is.
My mother, my father,
never told me.
If I can only find out
somehow,
someday . . .
I will be happy.
I will be me,
and it will be okay.
But another part of me
cries out, even now,
NO!
You ARE you – and it IS okay.
That day will never come
when it is okay for you to be you
because . . .
It is here already –
it has always been here.
You are the child God created,
and he loves you
right now
for who you are.
You do not need to change
or be someone else
to receive God’s love.
You are worthy to be loved by
God,
The Creator of the Universe,
right here,
right now.
Because . . .
you are precious.
Because you matter.
Because you are wonderful.
Because you are . . .
a miracle.
Remember when you were little
and carried your soft, fuzzy friend
everywhere?
Maybe it was a teddy bear
or a bunny
or a blanky
and you cared for it
and loved it
and felt loved in return . . .
That child is still there,
inside,
wondering where the teddy went,
wondering why the blanky is gone,
dying a little,
softly,
each day
from lonliness and sorrow.
But whoever said
that
you couldn’t have
love and acceptance
when it came time
to set aside the teddy,
the blanky
for grown-up things?
Why did you tell your child
deep inside,
finally,
that she doesn’t matter,
that he doesn’t count?
Why did you put her away
in a dark box?
Why did you lock him up
in that cold and sightless place
where loneliness holds court
and sorrow is his servant?
He … is You.
She… is You.
Open the prison door,
let in the light,
let in the truth,
that you are loved,
that you are worthy,
that you matter;
that YOU . . .
make a difference
because . . .
YOU . . . are a miracle.
Copyright ©, Peter Schipper
Pueblo, Colorado, February, 1992