Give Me Back My Dad

When she is tiny,
The girl turns to her dad.
So big, so strong.
Monsters never have a chance.

When she is little,
Her personality is known.
Daddy protects her,
Watches her as she grows.

When she is bigger,
He still lifts her to the sky.
Who knew that thumb and pinky
Could cause a girl to soar so high?

She knows everything, suddenly,
When she becomes a teen.
He challenges and questions her thoughts,
Without being terribly mean.

Then comes the day
The girl transforms into a bride.
She walks to the altar vows
With daddy still right by her side.

Who gives this woman?
The question is so simply asked.
Tears in his eyes, he recalls her childhood -
A pleasure, not a task.

Life moves on
With all its ebbs and flows.
Infertility, trauma, depression.
Beauty, too. A miracle and a rose.

Her dad still laughs with her,
Still prays for her as each day is new.
Thinks of her and prays many more times
Before the day is through.

She calls him on the phone.
Daddy, how are you today?
Her cares and joys expressed
In a balance of hurts and praise.

Daddies expect girls to grow up.
This is a truth we hold.
But the girls never truly,
Expect their daddies to grow old.

When a man is his child's hero,
He becomes invincible to her.
His strength taken for granted,
The years with him, a blur.

So when the day comes that,
His strength fades suddenly before her eyes.
It throws her into denial.
It has taken her by surprise!

Dads are supposed to last forever.
It wasn't supposed to happen this way.
There are supposed to be decades left,
Before God calls him away.

My God, why my very own dad!?!
Is her heart-wrenching cry.
Why not men who are merciless?
But God is silent, doesn't answer her why.

I hate this journey we are on.
This is not the road I would ever choose.
Even in my thirties, I am too young,
This giant in my life to lose.

God, help me take every moment.
Let me show him always that I care.
Even though on a soul-deep level,
I find this all so incredibly unfair.

Give him back his days, God.
Give him back his youth.
Give him back strength and vigor.
Keep him walking in truth.

It is not okay!!
My soul cries loudly within me.
Forever is not enough,
And never really could be.

This is one of the hardest trials,
My family has ever had.
Take ALS away from us!!
Give me back my dad.