Fresh Joy . . . For This Child

For This Child Have I Prayed

By Christine Field

For this child have I prayed

She came to us bathed in prayer, wrapped in love – an unexpected, much-loved gift

Smiles so bright – can rival the sun

A voice so sweet like a river runs

Brought so much joy, happiness and light

Never imagining the coming fight

For this child have I prayed

Adolescence descended like dark cover

In the fray we barely knew each other

Tears and shouting, fights and screaming

Made me wonder about Motherhood’s meaning

For this child have I prayed

A tearing time, a rendering apart

Now many miles away, where to start?

I promised I would make fly-overs

My helicopter’s searchlight panning past

For this child have I prayed

Then a sight through a cloud

A hand reaching out to touch mine

We connect, if only for a moment

Then flee the fear of familiarity

For this child have I prayed

Then you were here, sad and spent

Wondering where your life had went

We rejoiced to have you back in the fold

And laughed over pranks in days of old

For this child have I prayed

Talking mother to new-mother

Mother to friend

The conversation I prayed to have

Which seemed all so unlikely

God answers prayer – his presence hovers above

Passing over our lives, waiting for us to call to him

To cry out to him in grief and pain and

Miraculously he mends us back again

For this child have I prayed

Breathing a prayer of, “Thank you, Jesus.”