In the years of our great tribulation,
it seemed that our family lay ruined.
As solitary watchman on the wall,*
my defenses crumpled in tear-stained gloom.
Meticulous plans for succeeding
in nurturing their five young lives
Dissolved in sodden heaps of discarded morals,
defiance, rebellion and strife.

When had my prayers become worthless?
Had the lessons we'd taught been in vain?
The family unit we'd treasured
had imploded, with weeping and pain.

Many a day I sought refuge alone
to cry in lament for my own.
Dear husband, sweet children, what poison destroyed
the haven that had been our home?

As I cried out to God in my anguish,
He led me to read in His Word
how His strength is made perfect in weakness,
and the cries of His children are heard.
If it had not been for the Lord, I read,
(still, I echo the Psalmist's refrain).
Then He giveth beauty for ashes, it said,
as a flicker of hope rose, a small, steady flame.

As a still, small voice whispered within me
of a love that would never depart,
With the balm that's found only in Jesus,
He tenderly mended my heart.
The path where He led was relentless and steep;
the enemy wrought heartache and loss;
But my God, in His limitless mercy,
walked beside me and carried my cross.

And now a word to you parents.....bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves....
                                 Living Bible,  Ephesians 6:4

*Ezekiel 3:17, Isaiah 62:6--Watchmen were stationed on the walls of Jerusalem to guard and give warning of danger; it was also used in a spiritual sense.