St. Joseph, pray for us!

I was thinking about St. Joseph today.  Naturally.  But, poor St. Joseph.  What do we know about him?  Not very much.  Let's go to what he has to say, but wait! We never hear from him.  Not one recorded word.  We know of his virtues from what is written of him--that he was a just man, that he rose and did what the angel told him, that he went with his wife to enroll in the census and there was no room for him in the inn.  Imagine how frustrating it must have been for him!  He was the head of the household, and the child Jesus was listed in the census as his son.  He, at the word of the angel, married Mary whom he knew to be with child, not his.  He took care of her--the Immaculate Conception, and Jesus the God-man!  How humbling for him to realize that he was training in his own trade his foster son who is his God!  And for him to accept the word of the angel that the coming child was of God, so his wife was the bride of his creator!  Simply mindboggling!  He was the head of the household, to be obeyed by his spouse and son, but they far outstripped him in honor.  How was he to be subject to them while they were subject to him?  He must have questioned his own authority quite a lot, and he can't but have been very confused, yet he was humble enough to accept the answer--to listen to the angel in his dreams and to listen to Mary, and to listen to Jesus, and to grow in wisdom with them. 
Knowing what he knew of them, how heavy must the responsibility to care for them have lain on his shoulders!  How frustrating when he could not procure suitable lodging when the Son of Man was to become manifest to the world!  And I can't imagine how he must have felt when on the way back from Jerusalem he discovered he'd "failed" in his task of caring for and protecting God-made-child once he noted Jesus' absence from the returning caravan!  After having run away with Him as far as Egypt and having gone through so many hardships to see to His well-being, here He was lost!  But what sort of relief did he receive upon finding Our Lord in the temple?  He got what sounds like a rebuff from the child!  Don't you know I must be about my Father's business?  How's that for a reminder of his place in the family! 
So, how does one balance being the man of the house and being the servant of one's God who happens to be the child in the house?  I think his wisdom in balancing his duties, knowing and recognizing his position is what makes St. Joseph the patron for fathers.  And what better way to die than in the arms of the Savior and His mother?  Patron of a happy death, pray for me!