{"id":50,"date":"2021-06-16T14:33:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T18:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/?post_type=chapter&p=50"},"modified":"2022-02-01T11:25:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T16:25:54","slug":"wanderers-return","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/chapter\/wanderers-return\/","title":{"raw":"Wanderer's Return","rendered":"Wanderer’s Return"},"content":{"raw":"My home is so glad, my heart is so light,\r\nMy wandering boy has returned to-night.\r\nHe is blighted and bruised, I know, by sin,\r\nBut I am so glad to welcome him in.\r\n\r\nThe child of my tenderest love and care\r\nHas broken away from the tempter's snare;\r\nTo-night my heart is o'erflowing with joy,\r\nI have found again my wandering boy.\r\n\r\nMy heart has been wrung with a thousand fears,\r\nMine eyes have been drenched with the bitterest tears;\r\nLike shadows that fade are my past alarms,\r\nMy boy is enclasped in his mother's arms.\r\n\r\nThe streets were not safe for my darling child;\r\nWhere sin with its evil attractions smiled.\r\nBut his wandering feet have ceased to roam,\r\nAnd to-night my wayward boy is at home\u2014\r\n\r\nAt home with the mother that loves him best,\r\nWith the hearts that have ached with sad unrest,\r\n\r\nWith the hearts that are thrilling with untold joy\r\nBecause we have found our wandering boy.\r\n\r\nIn that wretched man so haggard and wild\r\nI only behold my returning child,\r\nAnd the blissful tears from my eyes that start\r\nAre the overflow of a happy heart.\r\n\r\nI have trodden the streets in lonely grief,\r\nI have sought in prayer for my sole relief;\r\nBut the depths of my heart to-night are stirred,\r\nI know that the mother's prayer has been heard.\r\n\r\nIf the mother-love be so strong and great\r\nFor her child, sin-weary and desolate,\r\nOh what must the love of the Father be\r\nFor souls who have wandered like you and me!","rendered":"

My home is so glad, my heart is so light,
\nMy wandering boy has returned to-night.
\nHe is blighted and bruised, I know, by sin,
\nBut I am so glad to welcome him in.<\/p>\n

The child of my tenderest love and care
\nHas broken away from the tempter’s snare;
\nTo-night my heart is o’erflowing with joy,
\nI have found again my wandering boy.<\/p>\n

My heart has been wrung with a thousand fears,
\nMine eyes have been drenched with the bitterest tears;
\nLike shadows that fade are my past alarms,
\nMy boy is enclasped in his mother’s arms.<\/p>\n

The streets were not safe for my darling child;
\nWhere sin with its evil attractions smiled.
\nBut his wandering feet have ceased to roam,
\nAnd to-night my wayward boy is at home\u2014<\/p>\n

At home with the mother that loves him best,
\nWith the hearts that have ached with sad unrest,<\/p>\n

With the hearts that are thrilling with untold joy
\nBecause we have found our wandering boy.<\/p>\n

In that wretched man so haggard and wild
\nI only behold my returning child,
\nAnd the blissful tears from my eyes that start
\nAre the overflow of a happy heart.<\/p>\n

I have trodden the streets in lonely grief,
\nI have sought in prayer for my sole relief;
\nBut the depths of my heart to-night are stirred,
\nI know that the mother’s prayer has been heard.<\/p>\n

If the mother-love be so strong and great
\nFor her child, sin-weary and desolate,
\nOh what must the love of the Father be
\nFor souls who have wandered like you and me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"menu_order":14,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-50","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50\/revisions\/76"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/50\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=50"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=50"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/sketchesofsouthernlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}