There was a story that appeared years ago in the Christian Reader
called "Priceless Scribbles." It was about a father who touched his
child's life in an unexpected way. A young boy watched as his father
walked into the living room. The boy noticed that his younger brother,
John, began to cower slightly as his father entered. The older boy
sensed that John had done something wrong. Then he saw from a distance
what his brother had done. The younger boy had opened his father's brand
new hymnal and scribbled all over the first page with a pen.
Staring at their father fearfully, both brothers waited for John's
punishment. Their father picked up his prized hymnal, looked at it
carefully and then sat down, without saying a word. Books were precious
to him; he was a minister with several academic degrees. For him, books
were knowledge. What he did next was remarkable. Instead of punishing
his son, instead of scolding, or yelling, his father took the pen from
the little boy's hand, and then wrote in the book himself, alongside the
scribbles that John had made.
Here is what that father wrote:
"John's work, 1959, age 2. How many times have I looked into your
beautiful face and into your warm, alert eyes looking up at me and
thanked God for the one who has now scribbled in my new hymnal. You have
made the book sacred, as have your brother and sister to so much of my
life."
The author of the story, now an adult, goes on to say how
that hymnal became a treasured family possession, how it was tangible
proof that their parents loved them, how it taught the lesson that what
really matters is people, not objects; patience, not judgment; love, not
anger.
"And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath,
but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Eph. 6:4)
Alan Smith
Innisfil, ON, Canada
