Watch Who You Are - Your Children Will Follow You!

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.

No word was spoken after that. They both knew what needed to be done.

That evening the son took his father by the hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither son nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

If you are a parent watch WHO you are at home. Your children are watching you! Some day they will follow your steps.

If you were a compassionate, loving person, they will most likely become compassionate and loving people. If they were raised in a home where efficiency ruled, and life was like a “treadmill,” but there was a lack of love and warmth, they will most likely be unloving people in their own world later on in life.

INFLUENCE is not about words, rules, manners and “parenting.” Influence is about WHO you are in the core of your heart. Children experience our influence as parents more than hear the words we say and the orders we expect them to obey. They know the difference and intuitively feel our inconsistencies.