We often learn the most from our children. 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.
