Saturday, February 05, 2011

LIFE LESSONS

The Gold Box

Some time ago, a friend of mine punished his 3-year-old daughter for
wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became
infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the  next
morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared
again when he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don't you
know that when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be
something inside of it?"
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,
"Oh,
Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he
begged her forgiveness.
My friend told me that he kept that gold box by his bed for years.
Whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and
remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us as parents has been given a gold
container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children.
There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
_______________________________________

"The Most Caring Child"

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was
asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry,
the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap,
and just sat there.
When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the  little
boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."
___________________________________

"What It Means to Be Adopted"

Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a  family.
One little boy in the picture had a different color hair than the other
family members. One child suggested that he was adopted and a little girl
named Jocelynn said, "I know all about adoptions because I was adopted."
"What does it mean to be adopted?" asked another child.
"It means," said Jocelynn, "that you grew in your mommy's heart   instead
of her tummy."
________________________________________________

Discouraged?

As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local
Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As
I sat down behind the bench on the first-baseline, I asked one of the boys
what the score was.
"We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile.
"Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very discouraged."
"Discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Why
should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet."
__________________________________________

Roles And How We Play Them

Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in my life, I stop and think
about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in a school play.
His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she  feared
he would not be chosen.
On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him
after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.
"Guess what Mom," he shouted, and then he said those words that will
remain a lesson to me:
I've been chosen to clap and cheer!"

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