When You Really Know a Sister

(I got this from a family member and loved it)

When You Really Know a Sister
by Debra Oaks Coe

When you really know a sister, know her joys and know her cares,
When you've come to understand her and the burdens that she bears,
When you've learned the fights she's fighting and the troubles in her way,
Then you'll find that she is different than you thought her yesterday.
You find her faults are trivial and there's not so much to blame
In the sister that you ridiculed when you only knew her name.

Some are quick to see the blemish in another sister's style,
Some point to all the errors and then cause a great big rile.
As you talk about the failures of the sister you don't know,
You drive away God's spirit and you've no more spiritual glow.
As you learn about her trials and you try her strengths to see,
You'll find you like her better and we'll have more unity.

If we could really know each other and heed our Savior's plea,
We'll do a lot more lifting and be much more spiritually free.
When we begin to understand and we cease to scoff and sneer,
Differences like age and status will always disappear.
You'll begin to find the virtues and the faults you cease to tell,
For you'll never hate a sister when you really know her well.

When next you start in sneering and your phrases turn to blame,
Recall the sacred covenants when you took our Savior's name.
To mourn with those that mourn is like an angel here to be
To comfort those that stand in need is divine I guarantee.
Such understanding and compassion, are not easy to obtain
You must set your mind to trying and from prejudice abstain.

For it's likely that acquaintance would your prejudice dispel,
And you'd really come to like her if you knew her very well.
When you get to know the sister and you understand her ways,
Then her faults won't really matter, for you'll find a lot to praise.
So remember to be Christlike and concentrate on all that's good,
For we all want help and comfort; we all need to be understood.

Please remember: Thoughtless or unkind words can ruin a reputation,
alter a relationship, change the course of a life.