A Father's Prayer

Well, today at long last we depart to deliver our daughter, technically our baby, to college. It’s a very interesting time, being both exciting and just a bit bittersweet. We all have such high hopes and dreams for our children, tempered with that inherent parent’s fear that things always have the potential to go south on us as well. I recently came across this ancient poem, written when my little girl actually was one, and thought this might be an appropriate occasion to resurrect it. We have all prayed these kinds of prayers over our sleeping children and I took liberty long ago of trying to capture all those thoughts in this one simple package. We want the best, worry about the worst, wonder what we could have done better, seek wisdom for what we could yet do, and most of all we’re thankful for what we have. As a parent (or an aunt, uncle, brother, sister or grandparent) you may have prayed similar prayers over the years. Much of our hopes and prayers comes to fruition at this very moment, when we love them enough to let them go and launch them out the nest on their own untried wings. It’s a delicate, painful, exciting, heart wrenching, jubilant, frightening, triumphant, fascinating time of life. As parents, even though we secretly fear it a little, we have been working towards this moment for eighteen long years. The point of this whole parenting thing, after all, isn’t merely to raise good kids, but to raise good adults who theoretically should leave on schedule and embark upon their own adult lives. Sounds corny, but it boils down to the old "if you love something, set it free" thing. Or, as prefer to think of it, "if you love something, pay for its tuition and set it free." Either way, this is the moment we have been hoping and planning towards, and the moment we’ve been praying towards. The car is all packed, the good byes have been said, the iron is unplugged, everything has been checked off the list (we hope) and it’s show time. All righty then, just one burning question remains ... "Hey Honey, what do you want to do for the next twenty years?"

A Father's Prayer
Kneeling by my daughter's bedside
As she dreams the night away
I place my hand upon her forehead
As look at her and pray,
"Thank You, Lord, for this dear blessing
And the joy she brings to me
Give me the love and courage
To hold her close and set her free
Prepare the man she'll one day marry
Strengthen and soften up his heart
That he may care for her as I have
So that they shall never part
Lord, open up her eyes to You
Give her the wisdom, faith and trust
To accept You as her savior
And to live the life she must
May I be strong enough to lead her
And kind enough to be her friend
May I be the kind of father
That she needs me to ... Amen."
Again, I brush her hair back
As I kiss her and whisper, "Good night,
Your daddy loves you very much
Sweet dreams, sweetheart. Sleep tight."
By Frank Carpenter ©