A father's prayer
"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,
and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son
whose wishes will not take the place of deeds;
a son who will know Thee…… and that
to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray,
not in the path of ease and comfort,
but under 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 that fail.
Build me a son
whose heart will be clear,
whose goal will be high,
a son who will master himself
before he seeks to master other men;
one who will reach into the future,
yet never forget the past.
Give him humility, so that he may always remember
the simplicity of true greatness,
the open mind of true wisdom
and the meekness of true strength.
－General Douglas MacArthur
主啊！求你塑造我的儿子，
使他够坚强到能认识自己的软弱；
够勇敢到能面对惧怕；
在诚实的失败中，毫不气馁；
在胜利中，仍保持谦逊温和。
恳求塑造我的儿子，
不至空有幻想而缺乏行动；
引导他认识你，同时又知道，
认识自己乃是真知识的基石。
我祈祷，
愿你引导他不求安逸、舒适，
相反的，经过压力、艰难和挑战，
学习在风暴中挺身站立，
学会怜恤那些在重压之下失败的人。
求你塑造我的儿子，
心地清洁，
目标远大；
使他在指挥别人之前，
先懂得驾驭自己；
永不忘记过去的教训，
又能伸展入未来的理想。
当他拥有以上的一切，
我还要祷求，赐他足够的幽默感，
使他能认真严肃，
却不致过分苛求自己。
恳求赐他谦卑，
使他永远记牢，
真伟大中的平凡，
真智慧中的开明，
真勇力中的温柔。
如此，我这作父亲的，
才敢低声说：“我没有虚度此生。”
---道格拉斯.麦克阿瑟将军