Mark Schultz wrote “He’s My Son” while he was a youth minister for a boy he knew that was diagnosed with leukemia. No matter what your religious background might be, I’m sure you will be moved by this song and the emotions of the parents that Mark so eloquently captures. The song has become an anthem for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society which has honored Mark Schultz with the Beacon Award for his awareness-raising efforts.
As a parent, especially as a father, can you imagine the helplessness you must feel when one of your beloved angels is stricken with something you can’t do anything about? That’s the heart-breaking aspect of this song that gets me. We’re left to our faith, whatever it is, and we realize just how much we love our family. So much so that we’d take their place if we could.
I don’t mean to be a downer with this. On the contrary, it’s my hope that it makes us all appreciate how lucky and blessed we are in life. Maybe you won’t blow your lid the next time you come home and the kids are making a mess and tremendous noise. Maybe you’ll enjoy it and even join in? All too soon they will grow up and leave you with a nice, clean and all too quiet house and you will miss them. That’s if you’re fortunate enough not to go through what the parents in this song went through and so many other courageous parents across the world.
p.s. There is a happy ending to this story. The boy that inspired this song is a grown man in his 20s and totally cancer free! 🙂
Here are the heart-wrenching lyrics
HE’S MY SON
I’m down on my knees again tonight
I’m hoping this prayer will turn out right
See there is a boy that needs Your help
I’ve done all that I can do myself
His mother is tired
I’m sure You can understand
Each night as he sleeps
She goes in to hold his hand
And she tries not to cry
As the tears fill her eyes
CHORUS:
Can You hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
Can You see him?
Can You make him feel all right?
If You can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
See, he’s not just anyone
He’s my son
Sometimes late at night I watch him sleep
I dream of the boy he’d like to be
I try to be strong and see him through
But God who he needs right now is You
Let him grow old
Live life without this fear
What would I be
Living without him here
He’s so tired and he’s scared
Let him know that You’re there
CHORUS
Can You hear me?
Can You see him?
Please don’t leave him
He’s my son
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Powerful song, Paisano, for any parent. It’s gratifying with a site like this that there are others out there who have thoughts like me and who so desperately love their children that they may lay awake some nights with these thoughts. At the end of the day we must love our children, never taking one day for granted and relishing every small step of progress they make. I also work at a special needs facility (http://www.cchs.org/blog) and know the struggles many parents go through, probably many singing this very song in their minds each day. Regardless of your situation, a parent is a blessed individual.
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Powerful song, Paisano, for any parent. It’s gratifying with a site like this that there are others out there who have thoughts like me and who so desperately love their children that they may lay awake some nights with these thoughts. At the end of the day we must love our children, never taking one day for granted and relishing every small step of progress they make. I also work at a special needs facility (http://www.cchs.org/blog) and know the struggles many parents go through, probably many singing this very song in their minds each day. Regardless of your situation, a parent is a blessed individual.
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Pai! I’ve been a Mark Schultz fan for ages, nice!
This is a pretty cool song. Very powerful. And it’s good to hear he’s being recognised by the world at large.
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Pai! I’ve been a Mark Schultz fan for ages, nice!
This is a pretty cool song. Very powerful. And it’s good to hear he’s being recognised by the world at large.
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I’m in tears, this is a carbon copy of my son’s life…Thank you so much…..You know we have a amazing God, the glory is all his!
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I’m in tears, this is a carbon copy of my son’s life…Thank you so much…..You know we have a amazing God, the glory is all his!
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I’m in tears, this is a carbon copy of my son’s life…..Thank you…You know we have an amazing God, the glory is all his..
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I’m in tears, this is a carbon copy of my son’s life…..Thank you…You know we have an amazing God, the glory is all his..
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I have a little different story. My son went through some very difficult times. I tried to help him get through them. I tried to live a Christian life and know that GOD has it under control. I still know he has it under control but now I am living with the fact that my son is missing and presumed dead of foul play. Some say his action may have lead to his death and disappearance. While I know that my son made some bad choices in his life, he did it all out of hurt, anger, and feeling abandoned. I believe my son is dead but I don’t believe it was his doing. I believe it was foul play. It has been over 2 1/2 years. I have tried to get the word out. I have tried to get people to listen. However no one cares about a 21-23 year old son that had problems. In the eyes of the media and law enforcement he is not worthy! It breaks my heart because I know the boy who wanted to be loved by his father. I know the boy that went to Louisiana looking to know his father. I know his father ultimately failed him and left him in a situation that most likely led to his death. To this day I don’t know where my son is. I don’t know for sure what happened although I have my sessions. Someone made a you tube video for my son but it has been deleted due to copywriter laws. All I know is my son was amazing. He was a young man who loves life and adventure. He loved his family and wanted to know his father and his family so he could be loved and accepted. My son now has a little boy – a boy that was born 2 1/2 months after his dad’s disappearance. This song touches my heart. Maybe not in the way it was intended but definitely in the way GOD intended. Contact me at find-clinton@hotmail.com if you have questions or comments. Clinton’s Mom
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I have a little different story. My son went through some very difficult times. I tried to help him get through them. I tried to live a Christian life and know that GOD has it under control. I still know he has it under control but now I am living with the fact that my son is missing and presumed dead of foul play. Some say his action may have lead to his death and disappearance. While I know that my son made some bad choices in his life, he did it all out of hurt, anger, and feeling abandoned. I believe my son is dead but I don’t believe it was his doing. I believe it was foul play. It has been over 2 1/2 years. I have tried to get the word out. I have tried to get people to listen. However no one cares about a 21-23 year old son that had problems. In the eyes of the media and law enforcement he is not worthy! It breaks my heart because I know the boy who wanted to be loved by his father. I know the boy that went to Louisiana looking to know his father. I know his father ultimately failed him and left him in a situation that most likely led to his death. To this day I don’t know where my son is. I don’t know for sure what happened although I have my sessions. Someone made a you tube video for my son but it has been deleted due to copywriter laws. All I know is my son was amazing. He was a young man who loves life and adventure. He loved his family and wanted to know his father and his family so he could be loved and accepted. My son now has a little boy – a boy that was born 2 1/2 months after his dad’s disappearance. This song touches my heart. Maybe not in the way it was intended but definitely in the way GOD intended. Contact me at find-clinton@hotmail.com if you have questions or comments. Clinton’s Mom
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After so many years of listening to this song, somehow this song touched me in a different way today. I’ve known the story behind the song for a while but I was moved to tears today. It reminded me of the healing power of God and the power of prayer.
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Beautiful!
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I have always avoided listening to this song because each time I do I end up in tears. My six-year-old boy was in a similar situation as the boy in the song though with sickle cell, each time he had monthly crises it was a tough struggle for him and my wife and me. He eventually passed on a few days to his sixth birthday. Ever since then I completely appreciated this wonderful inspirational song of Mark. I had always wished I could take the place of my son in those moments he went through the crises. But God knows the best and even now as painful as it is, I am somehow happy that in heaven where he is now, he can no longer go through any crisis. Thank you very much, Mark, for this song.
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My connection to this song was not as a parent, but as a daughter whose father was dying of CHF (congestive heart failure). The song had always tugged at my heart strings, but in June 2007, it seems like it was on the radio almost everytime I was listening. On the morning of June 25, I was delivering papers at around 3 am. This song came on, and I had to pull over because I was sobbing. I changed son to dad, and it was a cry for mercy for my dad, who was on hospice and dying an agonizing death where he was slowly drowning internally from the fluids around his heart and in his lungs that his heart was too weak to pump out. As much as I wanted him to live, even stronger was the knowledge that I didnt want him to suffer anymore. My prayer then changed from let him live to take him home, so he is no longer in pain. My mom found him at 7:30 that morning. He died in his sleep. The coroner estimated the time of death between 3 am-4 am. I still cry when I hear the song, even after 13 years.