I am not my family tree These are different leaves you know There are miles and miles between My roots in what I'm trying to grow I am not the slave they sold Nor am I royalty I've worn them both, the finest coat And rags that barely cover me But there's mercy in the soil Mercy in the sun Learning to forgive What cannot be undone And what was meant to harm Can't harm you in the end Stepped out on a limb I thought might break But love said, it will only bend, it will only bend I am not my past mistakes Labeled by some place and time Nor am I a trophy case Trying to maintain my shine I have dreamed a thousand dreams Watched a grain in famine grow I am not my family tree I have branches of my own But there's mercy in the soil Mercy in the sun Learning to forgive What cannot be undone And what was meant to harm Can't harm you in the end Stepped out on a limb I thought might break But love said, it will only bend Oh, does fate resign us to Find shelter for our wounds Beneath the battered roof Of broken dreams? Oh, but I will choose to stand In the shadow of Your hand And see what grows When Grace has sown a seed Oh, oh, oh These are different leaves you know Oh, oh, oh But there's mercy in the soil Mercy in the sun Learning to forgive What cannot be undone And what was meant to harm Can't harm you in the end Stepped out on a limb I thought might break But love said, it will only bend, it will only bend It will only bend, oh It will only bend, oh