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“AS THYSELF”
So often I had proudly said,
“I love my neighbor,”
(remembering the healing thoughts I’d fed
to friends in need,
the honor shown to parents,
the kindness shown to strangers,
the unselfed sacrifices in my day).
But this was not enough,
and in its quiet, heartfelt way
the Christly message came:
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Then I saw how incomplete
the circle of my love had been —
I’d felt no love for me.
Self-condemnation, doubt, inadequacy,
criticism’s barb and fear’s debris
had bound my thought.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
So I began to feed myself
constructive thoughts,
such as confidence, compassion,
and support –
truths all-powerful to thwart
destructive sense,
the error that would try
to crucify the Christ in me.
I learned how to pray–
protect my thought,
to assure myself each day,
“Beloved, you are God’s own,
completely free from sin.”
And as Love purified my sense of self,
I felt a warmth and joy within,
and a freedom I had never known.
Self-condemnation was dethroned.
Then I knew I loved my neighbor
even better than before,
for now I loved him as myself
and loved myself much more.
by Sandra Luerssen Hoerner
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4 Comments
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Dear Polly, that has met an immediate need. A heartfelt thank you .
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Beautiful, thanks for this ?
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If that wonderful woman Sandra, aka Sandi, were still here, she would have changed the last line of her poem, “As Thyself”, to read as follows . . .
Then I knew I loved my neighbor
better than before,
for then I loved him as myself
and loved him that much more.
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