My friend and fellow twinless twin Jim had a link to this story posted on Facebook. I thought I’d post the story here.
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CAN I BORROW $25?
Once upon a time; —- A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: ‘Daddy, May I ask you a question?’
DAD: ‘Yeah sure, what it is?’ replied the man.
SON: ‘Daddy, how much do you make an hour?’
DAD: ‘That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?’ the man said angrily.
SON: ‘I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?’
DAD: ‘If you must know, I make $50 an hour.’
SON: ‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: ‘Daddy, may I please borrow $25?’
The father was furious, ‘If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard every day for such childish frivolity’s.’
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn’t ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
‘Are you asleep, son?’ He asked.
‘No daddy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy.
‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier’ said the man. ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $25 you asked for.’
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you daddy!’ he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the father grumbled.
‘Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the little boy replied.
‘Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.’
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.
MORAL & LESSON FROM THE STORY: -
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It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours —- But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives!
I think there is too much emphasis on working and monetary/financial success. Out of all of my friends, some of the happiest and most fulfilled are some of the poorest. They may not be rich in money, but they are rich in so many other things that mere money can’t buy. They spend time together as families, something that the workaholics that are so focussed on their material wealth often fail to be able to do.
Over the years, I’ve found so many things that really matter can not be bought. No amount of money could have saved Gee from her cancer. I do not regret spending the time I took off of work when Gee was ill and then again when she was dying. I cherish every moment I got to spend with my beautiful Gee. She was the most gracious of people I have ever known and every hour I got with her was worth a hundred years without her. I was lucky to get a chance to have her in my life and was very fortunate to marry her. Being her husband was an honor and a privilege.
Likewise, no amount of money could save Lauren Elizabeth Kelley from her addictions. I was lucky to get to spend as much time with Lauren Elizabeth as I did before her addictions took over her life. Lauren Elizabeth Kelley, when she is healthy and not a victim of her addictions, is one of the most amazing women I have ever met and the only one I have ever loved more than my late wife Gee. That is really no surprise, given that I have known Lauren Elizabeth Kelley all of her life and loved her all of her life in some fashion, over two decades and more than ten times as long as I had Gee in my life. I have cared for Lauren Elizabeth Kelley all of her life and been her friend, her guardian, her mentor and confidante for many years.
Last summer, I asked Lauren Elizabeth Kelley to marry me. For a week we talked of all the things that might matter if we were going to start a life together—raising children, what we’d name them, when we’d get married, where we’d get married and so much more. Lauren Elizabeth Kelley told me “Sarangheyo” and that she loved me dozens of times during that week. She asked to see the claddagh ring I had bought her and I told her I would bring it by the next time I was going to see her. The next day, I confronted her, via text message and private messages on Facebook, about her drinking and she stopped speaking to me. I did not know that she had been falling to drug addiction and alcoholism for the better part of a month at the time. I later discovered the facts through seeing her social media posts.
I still hope that my beautiful Irish rose learns to love herself again and trust herself again. I hope that she does this before her addictions damage her future, her health, her mind and her body much more. I believe in Lauren Elizabeth Kelley and know that the woman I love is one of the strongest, smartest and most stubborn I have ever met—all reasons I love her so. I know that she could beat her addictions, but only if she chooses to fight them.
God Bless you Lauren Elizabeth.
May God watch over you and protect you from all harm—even that you cause yourself.
I hope God gives you the strength to fight your addictions and the wisdom to see the truth about what the alcohol and drugs are doing to you.
I pray that God grants you the serenity and peace you will need to love yourself once again and to forgive yourself for the things your addictions have made you do.
I ask that God helps you find your way back to being the amazing, beautiful, intelligent, feisty, stubborn, strong, and devout woman He wants you to be.
Finally, may He grant you the ability to see yourself as I do and let you remember who we are to each other; let you remember the years of friendship, love and devotion we once shared; and give you the strength to make amends so we can start the future together we talked about last June.
All this in Jesus’s name I pray.
Amen.