High expectations — Great efforts!
Expecting a baby to care for and train,
and prayerful for mercy again and again
through long years of effort, delight and concern:
‘Our Father, instruct us and help us to learn.’
Expecting God’s blessing and help in the task,
to penetrate blindness, resistance: we ask
he draw them, and lead as we guide them to see
his marvellous grace, and the judgement to be.
Expecting the problems and pressures that pull,
deceiving, enticing to drift and to fall; –
expecting much work to unmask and expose
the lies of the devil, God’s answers disclose.
Expectant and prayerful for grace from above –
our Father cares for us and those that we love.
He’ll help us to strive in explaining his truth;
– we look for his frequent heart-touch in their youth.