Does it ever feel like the values you're trying to instill in your children are just bouncing right off of them? Few things break a parent's heart like feeling as if your kids are rejecting the important life lessons you're trying to teach them. But is that really a rejection, or is your lesson a seed that takes years and years to sprout and grow? A tear-jerker of a video called "The Gift" shows what happens when a son rejects his father for being poor and focused on the "wrong" things -- only to learn years later what his father was sacrificing for him and for others.
The story is about a boy who was raised by his father, no mother or siblings. The boy is ashamed that they don't have very much money and that his father doesn't seem very ambitious. His father tells him, "Being rich is not about how much you have but about how much you give." But the boy doesn't get it. All he sees is what he lacks. He moves far away for school and all but forgets about his father.
It's not until he becomes an adult, and his father dies, that he realizes the priceless legacy his dad left him. I don't want to give it away, because it's such a lovely surprise, and it's so sweet to watch unfold. Well, it's bittersweet, because the son never gets to thank his father properly in person.
But what he does instead shows how deeply he internalized his father's lesson. All these years later, he finally gets what his father was trying to teach him about generosity and the deeper meaning that can be found in life. I think if his father could see him, he would be immensely proud.
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
What lessons did your parents try to teach you that you didn't truly appreciate until you were older?
Image via Viddsee/YouTube