WHEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR
BY SCOTT JOSEPH LAVOIE
AS A CHILD GROWING UP, I WOULD LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND ASK WHO AM I, WHAT WOULD I BE, WHO DO I SEE. I ASK MYSELF WILL I LOOK LIKE DAD, I REALIZE AS I GREW IN LIFE, I MUST BE LIKE HIM, BECAUSE WHEN I LAUGH, I HEAR HIM! IN MY ACTIONS, I SEE HIM! THIS BEING CONFIRMED BY MY MOM WHEN SHE WOULD SAY, “YOU DUMB FRENCHMAN YOU,” YOU’RE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER. SO HEARING THIS OFTEN I WOULD LAUGH, BECAUSE IT WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT REMINDED MOM OF DAD. THROUGHOUT MY LIFE AS I BECAME A MAN, I BEGAN THINKING HE MUST NOT BE ALL THAT BAD, BECAUSE, I LOVE TO LAUGH, AND I ENJOY LIFE, AND YES, I HAVE MADE MORE THAN MY SHARE OF MISTAKES…WITH THIS, I REALIZED NOT ALL THINGS ARE JUST OUR FAULT. WHEN WE KNOW WE HAVE THINGS WE ARE MISSING IN LIFE, THAT WE WANT SO BAD, BUT KNOWING THAT THE DISTANT BETWEEN THOSE YOU LOVE ARE SOMETIMES SO FAR AWAY; YOU BEGIN TO THINK; THEY ARE BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME IN THEIR LIFE AND THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON’T LOVE THEM. IT SIMPLY MEANS YOU LOVE THEM ENOUGH TO STAND ON THE SIDE LINES OF LIFE AND LET THEM LIVE THEIR LIFE.
I HAVE A LOT OF MEMORIES OF BEING WITH DAD AND THEY SEEM TO ALWAYS BE CAR RELATED. DAD AND HIS BROTHERS WERE ALWAYS WORKING ON CARS. LET ME SHARE ONE WITH YOU THAT SOME MAY REMEMBER. THERE WERE LOTS OF CARS AND TRUCKS OUT BEHIND THE GARAGE, SO I WANTED TO BE ONE OF THE GUYS….I WAS 4 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME. I WENT AND TOOK ALL THE KEYS OUT OF ALL THE CARS AND MADE A BIG KEY RING …NOW I WAS A BIG BOY JUST LIKE DAD. I CAN STILL HEAR AND SEE DAD SAYING “SCOTTIE, YOU GO NOW AND PUT ALL THOSE KEYS BACK… NEEDLESS TO SAY NOT ONE KEY FIT….
I HEARD ONE OF DADS FRIEND SAY SOMETHING THAT HAS STUCK WITH ME WITHOUT HIM KNOWING WHAT EFFECT IT HAD ON ME. HE SAID YOUR DAD IS A GOOD MAN…… SO NOW WHEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR I CAN SAY I SEE MY DAD AND IF I LOOK IN THE MIRROR FOR PERFECTION; I GUESS I WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. I KNOW THERE IS BUT ONE PERFECT MAN THAT HAS EVER WALKED ON THIS EARTH AND IT IS THE SON OF GOD JESUS HIMSELF… I HAVE LEARNED “LIFE LESSONS” FROM MY DAD, EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T GET TO KNOW HIM AS WELL AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED. I CHOOSE TO KEEP THESE MEMORIES ALIVE BY SHARING THEM WITH MY CHILDREN.
DAD, I’M SADDEN BY YOUR PASSING, BUT REJOICE IN KNOWING THAT CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS FOR OUR SINS, SO WE CAN HAVE ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH HIM. THIS IS NOT A GOOD BYE ……. IT IS LIKE THE SONG…WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN, WHAT A TIME OF REJOICING THAT WILL BE .
LET’S PRAY:
DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, I PRAY FOR OUR FAMILY IN THIS TIME OF GRIEVING, BE WITH US AND WATCH OVER THOSE WHO ARE HERE, AND THOSE WHO WERE UNABLE, BUT ARE HERE IN SPIRIT. PRECIOUS LORD, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY, WHEN WE CAN LIFT OUR EYES IN HEAVEN AND REJOICE IN A GREAT FAMILY REUNION AND SEE ALL OUR LOVED ONES THAT HAVE GONE ON BEFORE US. LET US REJOICE IN DADS LIFE. OUR HEARTS ARE HEAVY, OUR SPIRITS ARE SADDEN, BUT I KNOW IT IS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS, WE ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD, I PRAY FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW YOU AS A PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR, THAT THEY MAY FEEL YOU KNOCKING AT THEIR HEARTS DOOR, I PRAY THAT THEY OPEN THEIR HEARTS TO YOU, AND RECEIVE YOU IN, SO THAT THEY TOO MAY HAVE EVER LASTING LIFE THROUGH YOU….IT IS IN CHRIST JESUS NAME I PRAY AMEN