#043 THE WOODEN BOWL





A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.  But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about father,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.”  So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl!  When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?”  Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his day, he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
Moral: You reap what you sow. Regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. Always Respect, Care for and Love them. 

Comments

  1. Marianne13 February 2018 at 13:23

    I remember this story. Well, I've to say that it's so tough and real and it makes me feel sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13 February 2018 at 13:33

      Come on don't be sad Marianne, becoming old is part of life, however it's insane how many people treat their parents, yelling at them, being disrespectful, not recalling when they cared of us.

      Delete
  2. Unknown20 February 2018 at 09:00

    It's inevitable to feel pity and anger for how some people can treat their parents. If they took care of us children, we should take care when they are older.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous21 February 2018 at 17:21

      True! We should take care of them, even when looking after them is a hard task, we must think about the patience they had with us when we were children, this is understood when we become parents, yet we are such forgetful people and sometimes selfish that we don't want to do it. Hope this story helps us.

      Delete
  3. Katerin Intusca21 February 2018 at 08:18

    "You reap what you sow", I consider is the best moral. Actually, people forget that their action have consequences in their future lifes.
    Apropos of the story, in the real life usually old parents are seen like a "burden" and they feel so depressed.
    I think the story learn us about this and it motivate us to appreciate our parents in all their lifes.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous21 February 2018 at 17:48

      Rite! it teaches us to appreciate them in their lives, and beyond cus you will remember them and tell stories about them to your children, even after they leave us, cus sooner or later it will happen :( Remember to honour them forever.

      Delete
  4. Unknown20 March 2018 at 14:53

    Yes i agree

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  5. Unknown22 June 2018 at 15:38

    This story is very touching and useful because you can learn a lot about the life, the grow, love and respect for everybody and more if they are our parents. It means that we should take care our parents and also grand parents, because they are important element of our life´s history. Thanks their we are now the people who we are. And also it's a big reflection of how parents teach their children, because children learn more of the life´s parents, they are their examples of life and future decisions. They are becoming that they will learn.

    Jacqueline

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous24 July 2018 at 09:04

      Yes Jacqueline, really touching and as you mentioned our parents took care of us, so we should take care of them and grandparents as well. Thanks to them we learn lots of things and we have to preach by example otherwise it would be just mere words. :)
      Take care, it was nice to meet you

      Delete
  6. Geraldine Gutierrez18 July 2019 at 13:12

    It's so painful to even think about doing something like that but unfortunately it happens . The story shows us that we must love and respect our loved ones and no wait for our bad acts to come with consequences that we may not be able to change , and the phrase "you reap what you sow" is so true .So let's enjoy our loved ones until the last moment ,you never know when it will be the last time we see them

    ReplyDelete

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