I asked the Lord for children
Who'd serve him with their lives.
I told him I would trust him
To plan our family size.
Along came precious babies
Until the count reached eight.
We did our best to train them,
For results we'd have to wait.
The world had things to offer
That lured their hearts to roam.
Some of them had wandered
From things they learned at home.
Philosophies, wrong thinking,
Things beyond control,
Were there to steal our children,
To claim their heart and soul.
The family dream that started
Went far from what I planned.
In anguished prayer I cried out,
"Lord, I don't understand."
I gave my life to bear them,
To raise them for your name.
When others would prefer a job,
That led to wealth or fame.
In spite of my best efforts,
I'd hang my head in shame.
The thing I wanted most of all
Dissolved like coals in flame.
But as I prayed and pondered,
With still so much to learn,
Some of those who'd wandered
To home and faith returned.
They had to seek their own faith.
They had to know their need.
To learn how great the Savior
We'd taught them to believe.
I couldn't just protect them
From things they had to learn.
Some, more than the others
Had to feel that fire burns.
I also learned they aren't mine,
But God's, to do his will.
I trained and taught them best I could.
He's God, I need be still.
In time, my prayers were answered,
Beyond what I could ask.
One by one some who’d wandered,
Returned to faith at last.
I'm waiting still for others
Still lost along the way,
Trusting God will hear my cries
For their return some day.
Perhaps if I'd done better
From faith they'd not have roamed.
But grace is greater than my faults
And prayer can bring them home.
2016 Val Halloran
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.