Five I have...

I have long been interested in the life and writings of Ruth Bell Graham, the late wife of Dr. Billy Graham. While her husband traveled the world, Ruth spent many lonely nights baring her heart and soul on paper, all while raising five children. Her deep faith and sense of humor shine through in her books, especially in her prose and poetry, and her stories tell her remarkable journey through joy, pain, brokenness, and healing. I especially recommend Footprints of a Pilgrim and Prayers from a Mother's Heart. Here is one selection from Footprints, which has always really resonated with me, since she and I are both mothers of five. Her prayer is mine as well:

Five I have:
each separate, distinct,
a soul bound for eternity:
and I - blind leader of the blind -
groping and fumbling,
casual and concerned, by turns...
undisciplined,
I seek by order and command
to discipline and shape;
(I who need Thy discipline
to shape my own disordered soul).
O Thou,
Who seest the heart's true, deep desire,
each shortcoming
and each sad mistake,
Supplement and overrule,
nor let our children be the victim
of our own unlikeness to Thee.

How full is my heart with love for my own five...
...now grown to EIGHT! and all so very precious and dear to me.