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 ove-rreaction, 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.
A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check up. As the doctor
looked down her ears with an otoscope, he asked, "Do you think I'll find
Big Bird in here?" The little girl stayed silent. Next, the doctor
took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you
think I'll find the Cookie Monster down there?" Again, the little girl
was silent. Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he
listened to her heart beat, he asked, "Do you think I'll hear Barney in
there?" "Oh, no!" the little girl replied. "Jesus is in my heart,
Barney's on my underpants."
