Sunday Devotions - Calvin Hart #2, A Father's Prayer

This is the second week I am sharing a poem by Mr. Calvin Hart who has some wonderful Christian poems. If you Google his name you will come across some of his lovely Christian poetry. 

A Father’s Prayer

High as the heavens, deep as the oceans,

Filled with hope and despair,

As broad as the east is from the west

Describes a fathers prayer.

A prayer of conviction, a prayer for strength,

A prayer for faith foursquare,

A seeking of counsel, with his God and King,

This is a fathers prayer.

A plea for guidance, in leading his clan,

Made in all humility,

From the head of the household, to his Lord and Master,

With bowed head, and on bended knee,

For he is entrusted, by the creator Himself,

With the obligation to oversee,

That the needs of his family are met and fulfilled,

Both physical, and spiritually.

A prayer for forgiveness, when he is in err,

When to weakness he succumbs,

A prayer for wisdom, to make the right choice,

When the time for decisions does come.

A prayer of dire urgency,

A daddy’s desperate plea,

Take my children’s suffering,

And give it unto me.

Give my children peace and rest,

Give to me their pain,

Give to me their sickness,

I will bear it and not complain.

To keep his family safe and sound,

To lead past pitfalls and snares,

To protect his loved ones from danger and evil,

All of this, is a father’s prayer.

For a very long time in my life as a mother I was under the assumption that I was the parent with the most stress in our household. Oh, not that my husband was a lazy no good dad. Far from it!! He is a very caring and hands on father. But being a stay at home mom I just selfishly thought for years that I had the harder job. 

My mind has been changing on that front for the last few months but it wasn't until I read this poem that I could put my thoughts into words. (Lousy words but words nonetheless.) Men and women are not the same. We are created so very differently with vastly different roles to play. I can't even grasp what it must be like to be a father but I feel that so much more is expected of men in our society but at the same time they are expected not to complain about it. 

Sometimes I think fathers have to be even stronger emotionally when it comes to their children and families than women! I can't imagine what strength my husband has to summon everyday because I can only see the tip of the iceberg. 

Dear God, Thank You for my husband, the father of my children. As a woman, I can't know what his role of a dad is like. We are so very different. But you made us to complement one another. I can't be a father any more than my husband can be a mother. Give us both the strength to fulfill our separate parental roles to the best of our ability while working together for the very best for our children. Amen.