The Precious Gift
April 20, 2022, 5:00 AM

Some time ago, a man 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 Christmas tree.  Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you Daddy.”

The man became embarrassed by his overreaction earlier, but his rage continued when he saw that the box was empty.   He yelled at her; “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present there is supposed to be something inside?”

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all.  I blew kisses into the box.  They’re all for you, Daddy.”

The father was crushed.  He put his arms around his little girl and begged her for forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child.  The father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

 

Moral of the story:  Love is the most precious gift in the world.