BUILD ME A SON...
Douglas MacArthur
Build me a son, O Lord,
who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when
he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, but humble and gentle
in victory.
Build me a son whose wishes will not replace his actions, a son who will know Thee and
know that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Send him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but in the stress and spur of
difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him
learn compassion for those who fall.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high... a son who masters
himself before he seeks to master others. One who will learn to laugh. yet never forget
how to weep; One who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, this I pray, enough sense of humor that he may
always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously.
Give him humility so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the
open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain”
