Tonight my wife and I were watching Les Misérables on TV. After we finished crying at the end, we looked up some of the lyrics. One of the lyrics that struck us most was near the end of the movie, when the barricades were being manned. It reads like a parent’s prayer, whether that parent be a biological parent, a stepparent or an in-law. It reads:
God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there.He is young
He’s afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him homeHe’s like the son I might have known
If God had granted me a son
The summers die
One by one
How soon they fly
On and on
And I am old
And will be goneBring him peace
Bring him joy
He is young
He is only a boyYou can take
You can give
Let him be
Let him live
If I die, let me die
Let him live
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home
It is said that the worst nightmare for a parent is outliving his/her child. There is some significant truth to that. But, the worst nightmare for a Christian parent is the thought that his or her prodigal son/daughter may not find their way home in time. “If I die, let me die. Let him live. Bring him home. Bring him home. Bring him home.” Yes, I can quite understand that prayer now. I am in my 60’s. If I die, it is gain. If I die, let me die, but let my children live to a ripe old age. Let them not die before they find their way home to you. Let each and every one of them, and each and every one of their children be brought home by you, the Author of Life. Yes, that is most clearly and most definitely the prayer of the parent or parent-in-law.
And, so Lord, now I pray two prayers. One is an old childhood prayer. “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake. I pray the Lord my soul to take.” But, really, the first prayer I pray is the parent’s prayer. “If I die, let me die. Let him live. Bring him home. Bring him home. Bring him home.”
I love this movie. It touched my heart and I cried once or twice when I watched. I read your post. Thank you for sharing.
Oh my….this gave me chills. I remember, at my brothers funeral, my dad said those very words…that you should never outlive your children. By his death this year he had outlived 3 of his 4 children…me, of course, being the only one surviving. This preys on my mind more than is comfortable. Think I will add that prayer to my routine as well…..
Thank you for sharing this, Father Ernesto. My son just recently completed his BS in Biochemistry and will be applying to pharmacy school. And less than two weeks ago he married a wonderful girl, and your post made me think of him.
But what got to my heart the most where the words,
“You can take
You can give
Let him be
Let him live
If I die, let me die
Let him live”
When he was an infant he was “failing to thrive,” a medical term for not developing as he ought to. Indeed, at the age of six months he barely weighed ten pounds. One day as I was driving home from work I found myself angry with God, and I remember pulling over to the side of the road and as I pounded on the steering wheel saying to Him, “Let him live, if you must take a life, then take mine!” At the moment I considered God to be a Cosmic Bully.
I repented, of course, and my son went on to “thrive” quite well. But I have not forgotten my struggle with God that day. And your post made my remembrance of it all the sweeter.
With your permission I would like to mention your post on my church’s blog page and add my own story to it.
You are most welcome to mention the post.