I ran into a stranger as he passed by, "Oh excuse me please" was
my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me, too; I wasn't really watching for
you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we
said good-bye.
But at home a different story is told, how we treat our loved ones,
young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal, my son stood beside me
very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of
the way," I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how
harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake that night in bed, God's still small voice came
to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you
use, but the children you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on
the kitchen floor, you'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself:
pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the
surprise. You never saw the tears that filled his little
eyes."
By this time, I was feeling very small, and then my tears began to
fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "Wake up, little one, wake
up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?" He smiled, "I found
them, out by the tree. I picked them because they're pretty like
you. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue."
I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today. I shouldn't
have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially
the blue."
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are
working for could easily replace us in a matter of days? But the
family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their
lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into
our own family ---- an unwise investment indeed, don't you
think?
So what is behind this story? Do you know what the word FAMILY
means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU