As I look back on my life and try to understand
who I currently am and who I have been,
I can see the prints of the Master’s hands
helping me as I fought my battle with sin.

I remember my father and all the negative impacts
of his bewildering behavior and bothersome acts.
I remember the terror of long nights with screaming fights
and the anxiety of mother trying to hide the facts.

My father often came home with so much anger
at just about anyone who might be around,
That I would do my best to get out of sight
and make certain that I didn’t utter a sound.

The smallest of things could cause him to react
with such an outburst and a frightful huff,
That I would retreat to my cozy little room
to ponder the meaning of life and such stuff.

 

I was a naturally outgoing and quite inquisitive kid
with a pleasant demeanor and hopes that were high.
But eventually I became so anxious and full of fear
that I became quiet and people thought of me as shy.

 

Often I didn’t understand what was happening to me
and why in the world nobody seemed to care.
It was as though I was on an island all by myself
and life was much too often so full of despair.

 

But God would give me a little window of love
That was so full of insight that I could see,
That things were going to get much better somehow
and that He was going to take very good care of me.

 

I have continued to carry many scars through my life
from the mental abuses I perceived as a child.
Yet when I look at all the problems in the world
I realize that all of my suffering was really quite mild.