Oh, how my heart longs
To see in the face of my child
The image of myself;
In each feature that I find…
Does she have my eyes, my nose,
My smile?
Do I recognize my own expressions
If I stare a little while?
Or does she resemble her father…
Are they his bright smile and happy eyes?
Wondering if she favors me,
I think and gaze
On her little face.

Oh how I wonder
If their lives resemble mine…
In nature as they mature
Will I begin to find
My attitudes and actions
Reflected in their words,
Reflected in their actions,
And will I find that I approve
Of the self I see in them?

Oh how Your heart must long
To see Yourself in me…
Though never quite exact until
A time that is yet to be…
Slowly growing into Your image;
But You see it;
The life You’ve given
Being used to reveal it,
The image of You in me…
Not in appearance, but action,
In word, in heart, in deed,…
Being daily perfected in You,
That in You, I may be complete…
Oh, how I pray
That each new day,
The self You see
Reflected in me
Will be a bit more true
To the nature that is Yours,
A clearer view
As what is within
Is able to flow through…
And how I pray that I might also
See You in me.

ADW 1999