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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, February 2, 2008

Dad prays to help his daughter

By H. Murray Hohns

One of my daughters is 49 years old. She has been a single mom for most of her adult life, and raised two boys who are ready to leave home. Indeed, her oldest has already left. He found a lovely girl who will soon give birth to our first great-grandchild. They have chosen to move in with her parents until they are able to afford a place of their own.

The second son has finished his formal schooling, and he is gone more than he is home. I try to talk with my daughter every Sunday, and several months ago she asked me to pray for her. She told me she was lonely, that there was no one to talk to at meal times and in the evenings.

My daughter owns a nice house, and while the house and its yard bring her great joy, it is empty, and she told me how she felt — lonely.

I was troubled. My darling daughter, who had prevailed so strongly so many times in the past, revealed her vulnerability to me, and I was upset.

I did not want her to be alone, so I wrote her need at the top of my list of things I prayed about every day: "Lord, would you send someone into my daughter's life so she has someone to share each day? I do not want her to be lonely."

I called her the other Sunday. We had missed our weekly visits over the holiday rush so we talked and laughed, getting caught up and then I asked her if the Lord had heard my prayers for her. To my joy, she said she had met someone, and that he was lovely and loving. He had been in, though mostly out of, her life for the past 13 years but recently felt that he should get back in touch with her. He was lonely, and had thought of her.

My daughter said the fellow isn't as tall as she is, but when you are 49 and lonely, height is no longer a defining measure. He is alone like she is. He raised three boys by himself, and they are all married and have families of their own.

He drives a big rig over a three-state route and starts work at 2 a.m. five days a week. He's never late for work. He makes her laugh when they are together, and if they combine their two houses into one and their incomes, they will easily be able to do the things they both have been hoping to do one day in the future. That includes visiting us in Hawai'i often.

She asked if she could bring him to Hawai'i to meet us; to see if we approved of her find.

I cannot wait to meet her beau.

I learned long ago that my daughters were at their best when there was a man in their life that loved them. They did not care if he was educated or not; what he did for a living or what kind of a car he drove; they wanted to be loved and to feel the assurance of that love. That was all that mattered in the end.

My daughter has a sweetheart, and I am delighted.

Do you want a sweetheart? Ask your dad to pray for you and be expectant. My daughter did and I prayed, and now she is filled with joy, and so am I.

If you do not have a dad, pray yourself, and God will honor your request.

H. Murray Hohns of Makiki is an associate pastor at New Hope Christian Fellowship. Expressions of Faith is a column that welcomes submissions from leaders in faith and spirituality. E-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com or call 525-8035.