Can I Borrow $25?

THIS MIGHT BE LONG, BUT IT’S WORTH THE READ!

Can I Borrow $25? 
 

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 everyday for such childish frivolities.’ 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. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time s lip 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.

THOUGHTS?

  • http://dturn.wordpress.com david

    I try to spend as much time as I can with my sons (shooting hoops, goofing around, etc).
    I will never be able to get the time back that I misused.

  • http://nicoleknox.blogspot.com/ Nicole Knox

    AMEN!!!!!!! I love this blog. I am sending it to everyone. I also need to read it too even though I make $0 an hour sometimes I forget to just sit down and read a book and play with my boys. Thank you for writing this.

  • http://cindybeall.com Cindy Beall

    Great stuff, SW.

  • Scott Williams

    I wish I could claim this one; my wife forwarded it to me and man… is it impactful. The original date this e-mail/post was Sept. 15th 1998.

    This is really good and heart wrenching!

  • http://brianhowe.wordpress.com Brian Howe

    good stuff…this one gets ya in the gut.

  • http://www.dustytakle.com Dusty

    Looove this one. It’s amazing how the hustle and bustle of life can take precedence over time with out kiddos. And, it’s even more amazing the dividends that both we and our children reap when we DO take the time to put them first. Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.floatingaxhead.com Scott

    Ouch. That is a convicting and timley story.

    I was thinking of skipping out on going to Incredible Pizza tonight with my wife and daughter (and the rest of the kids from South OKC Konnect), but now there is no way I would miss it.

  • http://www.manymeadows.blogspot.com Robin Meadows

    Whew!

  • http://www.knowgreaterlove.org/wordpress1 Avery

    Reminds me of the gospel…

    All those guys in Jesus time hustling and bustling…

    All he wanted was to buy a few minutes of their time…show them some things… but they were too busy about their business…

    My Father spent the life of His Son to buy a few minutes of our time too…

    I think of the millions hustling and bustling… time paid for, with the greatest audience of One there ever was, is, or ever will be…

    I wonder how many consider the cost God paid for a few minutes of our time too…

    He’d probably tell us a lot of things that would change the way we spend our time with almost everything in life…

    Good post Scott…

  • http://blog.edmondoklahomesforsale.com/ Ryan Hukill

    Scott, POWERFUL STUFF MAN! These types of reminders really are a blessing. They help to keep me balanced and remind me of what’s truly valuable in life. As easy as it is for me to get caught up in building my business, I work hard to block out the most important time for my family. Thanks for sharing, my friend.

  • http://www.michaelandrewjones.com Mike Jones

    Where did the header on your blog go?

  • http://www.michaelandrewjones.com Mike Jones

    Never mind … it’s back … weird.

  • http://rollmentalcamera.blogspot.com roger

    That is why I make sure and coach as many sports for the boys as I can. If it is in the schedule I can’t miss it. Not the best solution but I do what I can

  • http://www.unveilinghope.com Hope

    Send me a box of tissue, priority mail. I usually drop whatever I’m doing when my son walks into the room (he’s a teenager and doesn’t do it often). From now on, I’ll stop whatever I’m doing every time he walks into the room.

  • Scott Williams

    This e-mail/post wasgood; I have to thank my wife for forwarding it to me.

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