The Purposeful Parent

By Clyde E. Gumbs

There is an awesome challenge

That many face on every day

When you are acting as a parent

What is the role for you to play

Could anything be more conflicting and less certain

Then what parents are told they need to be

To be a failure as a parent

Is life’s most dreadful destiny

They are told by some

That protecting children is the goal

Assuring safety the objective

In a world that no one can control

They are told by some

To meet their children’s worldly needs

That all the worldly things they offer

Dictate how the child succeeds

They are told but some

That they must seek to instill fear

That through much healthy domination

Respect and decency appear

They are told by some

That religion always shows the way

That through healthy fear of God and life

One will never go too far astray

They are told by some

To cast an image without sin

That they must pretend to be a model

Beyond what they have ever been

They are told by some

That families must look a certain way

That the damage is irreparable

If from tradition you do stray

They are told by some

To avoid mistakes at any cost

That if you ever seem to stumble

The promise of the future may be lost

Does this seem to be a blessing

Does this seem to offer hope

Or is it based in resignation

And just another way to cope

Is parenting an obligation

Through which your worthiness is earned

Is the battle one of validation

And brutal lessons to be learned

There is parent who is divine

Gift to those born and yet to be

There is a parent of purpose pure

There is a parent of destiny

There is a parent of awesome power

The power of all divinity

Instrumentality of purpose

The parent of all humanity

There is a parent who lives inside a prayer

The purest prayer that there can be

That all who ever come behind them

Fulfill inspired destiny

There is a prayer of pure intention

For each moment and eternity

That all who follow fulfill purpose

And potential beyond what they can see

There is a prayer of introspection

For awareness now and constantly

That all who follow are awakened

Discover all there is to see

There is a prayer of pure devotion

Of passion and divinity

That all who follow are inspired

Experience all they’re born to be 

There is a prayer of contribution

For service of humanity

That all who follow will contribute

Their gifts and talents wonderfully

There is a prayer of consecration

Of love and joy for progeny

That all who follow are triumphant

As they embrace their destiny

There is a parent who is for certain

The parent that they were born to be

The Purposeful Parent fulfills their purpose

And their inspired destiny