Note to a Young Parent

Despite the vastness of your love,
you, too,
will undoubtedly encounter
a particular brokenness in yourself
so deep
that you cannot traverse it,
even for your children’s sake.

Don’t lose heart.
It does no good
to beat yourself up about it.
Just be willing
to live along the ragged edge
of your limitations.
Let them see you struggle,
sometimes fall,
and get up the next morning,
willing to try again.

One day,
you may find that,
without knowing how or when,
a bridge was built
between your brokenness
and a better way.
You will realize that your children
have walked across it.

And I am here to tell you,
there is not one thing
in this wide world
more gratifying
than to see your grown children
do a better job
than you did.

By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith