A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. Luke 15:13-16

I am sure you have heard the story of the Prodigal Son. The younger son wanted his part of the inheritance, to which the father agreed. He then took it and left home.
You can read the result of this above.

I want to know what the father did during this time.
I can only speculate.

I think he prayed for his wayward child; prayed for his safety and eventual return home.
Perhaps he was upset with himself for giving in to his demands. Maybe it would have made little difference and the son would have left anyway.
Did the father feel that he enabled his son?
Did he feel that he didn’t take him to church enough or was lax in discipline?
Maybe he felt like he wasn’t strict enough in keeping the wrong kind of friends away.
There is no way to tell what his thoughts were.
One thing is for sure – he loved his boy and longed for him to come home.

I can picture him looking down the road for a figure with that familiar walk.

Each of us can only pray that our children would do as this one – come to their senses and return home repentant and apologetic.

The father’s younger son did just that. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Luke 15:20

No rebuke.
No “I told you so!”
No retaliation.
No harsh treatment or cold shoulder.
There was nothing in the father’s actions that could remotely be thought of as hateful or angry.
He was filled with love and compassion.

Children are a blessing from the Lord but can break a parent’s heart. As a parent I have tried my best to raise my children to respect and honor God, to be honest with others, and to treat others as they would want to be treated.
I have often been disappointed with my children just as my parents have with me.

Yet when I look at my children I am filled with love and compassion!