The list

I was asked to write a list
Of all the pros and cons
A list about myself
All the things I like
All the things I dislike
Well it was a big mistake...
As I look back upon my life
It was all the physical things
That made me feel so sad
Those same physical things
That made my teenage years
So bad: yes it was as if I
Had listed all my teenage fears
I hated my nose, my ears, my teeth
Those physical attributes 
Those things we cannot change
Those genetic traits we inherit...

The pros were all internalised
All the ways in which I have grown
The spiritual growth that has given me
The calmness, the peace, the grace
To cope with all that this life has dished
Yes this list was the longest
For in this list are the blessings
Yes those blessings that help me
To accept the way that I am
Both then and now: somehow
When I look back from then to now
I see the good things not the bad
The beautiful things that make me glad
No matter where the world 
Has dragged me in its grip
It is these blessed changes that show
Over all the sadness and the fears
Over all the pain and all the tears
It is the simple fact that Jesus loves me
Yes: this list : the pros that win
Yes: these blessed changes that glow
From within!