You Changed My Life

You.  Changed.  My.  Life.

I was born.  I was growing.  I was heading in a direction.

And with your words you changed my life.

When you said:  don’t tell anyone.  You kept me hostage.   You stole me from where I was.  And placed me in the middle of a fog of confusion.  For years.   You took my value.  My worth.  My sense.  You stole the innocence of trust.  The freedom of being young and carefree.  I was who I was.   Even at a young age.  And you changed me.  When you took me hostage.   The everything I had been given by my birth, by my family.  By friends.  By life.

Then all of you.

Changed.

Me.

You changed me when you said….

Come with us!  We’ll have fun.  And you laughed with me.  At me…the way people do with others like them.  The way people laugh at one another on purpose and because it’s funny.   Not because of difference.

You changed me when you said….

I love you.   And I realized that who I was …was not what had happened.

You changed me….

When you were born.  And you depended on me to keep your little selves safe.

When you looked to me for comfort.  And needed me for what I gave you.

You changed me….

When you being in my life was adding to me, not taking from me.

You changed me….

When you said let’s go back to school, there’s more for us.  And there was.  There is.

You changed me…

When you said you would pray for me.  And not knowing my own beliefs or faith you bowed your head and trusted in your own beliefs to watch over me

You changed me…

When you trusted me with your faith.

You changed me…

When you trusted me with your story.  Your secret.  Your fears.  Your hopes.

You changed me…

When I heard you say you have the freedom and power to choose everything you do.  You have no idea the impact that had on me.  The freedom and power you instilled in me.

You changed me…

When you said I made a difference in your life.  When I wasn’t sure what my value was to others.

You changed me…

When you heard my story and smiled at who I am.  And not what happened.

You changed me….

When you accepted me for my faults.

You changed me…

When you didn’t see me for years.   You didn’t know I was going to be there, and as I stepped out of a car, your face lit up.  You didn’t know I saw this.  You didn’t know I saw as you stopped what you were doing and approached me with joy.   And hugged me with acceptance.

You changed me….

When you said you don’t know what you would do without me, when I thought there were times you would gladly walk away from me.

You changed me…

When I allowed myself to step out of the fog.  Back in to my world.

You changed me…

When you said to me you have transformed so beautifully.  And I felt set free.  When you saw me.  Changed.