The prodigal's' Dad

In re-reading the parable of the prodigal son, I thought a lot about the parents today. First off we never hear about the mother. Barbara Johnson says maybe she had already gone to the home for the bewildered. But it is the Father that I was mostly thinking about. We do know that he was watching for his son to come home. Maybe he sat there every day waiting, hoping, longing, praying.
He watched with a heavy heart. Not because his son had taken his hard earned money and squandered it. He had a heavy heart because he missed his son dearly. With no cell phone or telephone, he probably had no idea where he was and how he was doing. That must have made unanswered questions harder.
Then it came to me. I know that song he sang as he sat there surveying the road leading into the farm. It went like this:
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I'll be right here waiting for you.
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I'll just be right here waiting for you.
And oh the rejoicing, when that son came.
Can't you feel his heart expanding in love as he ran to greet him.
The waiting was worth it all.