
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 watching for you." We were
very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way saying
good-bye. But at home a difference 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. As 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 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,
and you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes." By
this time, I felt very small, and now 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 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em
because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em,
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 would 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 to our own family an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think? So what is behind the story? Do you know what
the word FAMILY means?
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