Lord,
today as I cycled to work
I unexpectedly met my two girls in town.
They were full of life,
excited by bargains bagged in pound shops
at that early hour.

My two girls grinned and chatted,
full of exuberance.
And as I listened, bemused,
a deep feeling of love
stirred within me.

Yet these two girls of mine
have me tortured
with squabbles, sulks and mood-swings.
My two girls frustrate me, irritate me,
drive me to distraction.
They are headstrong,
determined to live their lives
in their own ways.
My advice is discarded.
In their eyes
I seem to have zero credibility.

And yet I love them both so dearly.

I can’t help wondering, whether,
as a child of God,
I am any better?
Do I frustrate My God in the same way
that my two girls frustrate me?
Am I any better at listening to My God
than they are at listening to me?
Am I equally determined to do things
in my own way,
the hard way?

As I cycle on, I make a mental note
not to be too hard on my two girls
and to remember
that I am truly blessed to have them
as my daughters.

© Claire Murray