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The Prodigal Cycle Part II: The Leaving




"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth in wild living." Luke 16:13


Father

I’ve prayed a thousand prayers

And I’ll pray a thousand more.

Head bowed

Life bowed

Dearest LORD, once again I implore

Save him

Break him

Do what it takes

Don’t forsake him

Work in him

Work despite him

You know what is at stake

Hear my heart—my desperate plea

Rescue him

Father God

Forever unfailing and trustworthy.



Son

So long, farewell

Adíos, I’m gone

I’m free from your rigidity

Free from your religiosity

Free from your authority.


I’m hitting the road

Seeing the sights

Going to know all there is to know

I’m going to do it all

Be it all

Nothing will stop me.


I’m going to live life

On my terms

My desires—my pleasures

Whatever I want

I’ll forget all about you

Do this without you

Except for this one thing

I’ll spend your money

‘Cuz the money is good.



Father

You’re traveling on a road

That I can never take

I knew this day was coming

And how I would break

These choices and decisions

That will only end in heartache

They’ve blinded you to reality

And all that is at stake.


But if you could see

What I see

If you could look with the eyes of faith

And just believe

Then you would know

What I know

And find the love that won’t let you go

If you could see what I see.


I wish I could perceive

How far you will go

How long will you run, my son,

From the lover of your soul?

You’re chasing after things

That will never satisfy

You’ve traded the truth

For oh so many lies.


But if you could see

What I see

If you could look with the eyes of faith

And just believe

Then you would know

What I know

And find the love that won’t let you go

If you could see what I see.


He loves you

Even more than I do

His grace and mercy

Are reaching out to you

Take hold of

The salvation He’s proffering

And the forgiveness He’s offering.


But if you could see

What I see

If you could look with the eyes of faith

And just believe

Then you would know

What I know

And find the love that won’t let you go

If you could see what I see.



Son

I’ve got a babe on one arm

And a bae on the other

All these guys around me

Call me their brother

Let’s keep this party going

Keep the booze a’flowing

Every moment the pleasure is growing

No stopping—no slowing

This is what I’ve been looking for.


If the old man had only loosened up

Eased off

Cut me some slack

Maybe he would have seen

Life can be fun

But he‘s nothing but a curmudgeon

Now’s the time to live it up

No stopping—no slowing

This is what I’m living for.



Father

The world wants its answers

To why this is happening

What wrongs did I commit?

What secret sin am I harboring?

What could I have done differently?

How was I enabling?

Was I tough--

Lovingly tender--

Strict—

And boundary-setting?

How did I fail

For him to make the choices he’s made?

It’s all my fault--

Condemn me--

Place the blame.

The questions and the piteous looks

Isolate and segregate

Leaving me alone in the struggle

Undone by its weight.



Son

One day you’ve got it

The next day it’s gone

One day there’s a crowd

Cheering you on

Then, in a flash,

They’ve all withdrawn

As long as I had the dough

They hung on my arm

Stoked my ego

But now that I have nothing

Not a penny to my name

Everything I cherished

Has ignited and perished

In the flames.



Older Brother

It’s beyond my comprehension

I cannot begin to apprehend

After all he’s been put through

After all that’s been done

How can he still pray for

Hope for

Yearn for

The return of this son?

What manner of love

Waits with expectation

When all seems lost

Holds out—holds on?



Father

Remember those sunny days

When we worked side by side

You and I

We sweated and toiled

With laughter unspoiled

By anything

We walked and talked

Those times brought

More joy than I would have ever thought

But the clouds rolled in

And the ensuing storms blew you away.

I stare out my window

I watch and wonder

Will those sunny days come again?



Son

A job is a job is a job

When you need to pay the rent

When the bills are overdue

And the money’s overspent.

You do what you’ve got to do

Though it pains me to the core.

The cash is gone

My “friends” are gone

The food is gone

Nothing is as it was before.

I’ll settle

Make do

For the interim

It’s a stop gap

A shirt-lived measure

For sure

I’ll climb back up in no time

Rise again

Make them all eat my dust

But for now

A job is a job is a job.



Father

Break down

Break down all the idols

In his life

Tear down

Tear down the walls

He’s built to hide

From You

Rip down

Rip down his selfish pride

The lies deep inside

Break down.


Break him

Break him from the things

That never satisfy

Show him

Show him the relentlessness

Of Your grace

Forgive him

Forgive him for his rebelliousness

And selfish pride

Break him.


Break through

O Holy Spirit come

Rescue him

Cleanse him

Of all his sin

Restore him

Renew from within

Hear this

My anxious entreaty

And break through.



Son

Nauseating and revolting

Sickening and repugnant

That’s not just the smell of the swine

But the way my life has went.

I’m starving

While these animals are well fed

What’s wrong with me?

What was going through my head?

My father’s servants are better off

I’ll return to him and beg

For forgiveness I don’t deserve

Pardon I could never earn.

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