Father's Hands
A young man went to seek an important position at a large printing company. He passed the initial interview and went to meet the director for the final interview.
The director looked at his resumé, and asked, “Have you ever received a scholarship for school?”
“No,” the man replied.
“It was your father who paid for your studies?”
“Yes.”
“Where does your father work?”
“My father is a blacksmith.”
Then, the director asked the young man to show him his hands. They were soft and perfect.
“Have you ever helped your parents at their job?” the director continued.
“Never. My parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, he can do the job better than I can.”
“I have a request for you,” said the director. “When you go home today, go and wash the hands of your father, and then come see me tomorrow morning.”
The young man left feeling good about the interview.
That night, when he returned home, he asked his father if he would allow him to wash his hands.
His father felt rather strange about the request, but agreed.
The young man washed his father’s hands, little by little. It was the first time that he noticed all the wrinkles and scars on his father’s hands.
Some bruises on his hands were so painful that his skin shuddered upon being touched.
It was the first time that the young man recognized what it meant for this pair of hands to have worked every day to be able to pay for his studies.
The bruises on his father’s hands were the price that he paid for his child’s education and future.
After cleaning his father’s hands, the young man stood in silence, then began to tidy up his father’s workshop. That night, the father and son talked for a long time.
The next morning, the young man returned to the director’s office. The director noticed the tears in his eyes.
“Can you tell me what you did, and what you learned yesterday?” he asked the young man.
“I washed my father’s hands. When I finished, I stayed and cleaned his workshop.” He continued, “Now I know what it is to appreciate and recognize that, without my parents, I would not be who I am today. By helping my father, I now realize how difficult it is to do something on my own. I have come to appreciate the importance and the value in helping the family.”
The director looked at him with an earnest expression.
“This is what I look for in my people. I want to hire someone who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the hardship of others. You are hired.”
A child who has been coddled constantly usually develops a self-righteous mentality, and will always put himself first, ignoring the efforts of his parents.
You can give your child a big house, good food, computer classes, and a flat-screen TV. But when you’re washing the floor or re-painting a wall, please let him experience that, too.
The most important thing is that your children learn to appreciate the lives you have given them, and to experience the difficulties of life, to have the ability to work with others to get things done.
The director looked at his resumé, and asked, “Have you ever received a scholarship for school?”
“No,” the man replied.
“It was your father who paid for your studies?”
“Yes.”
“Where does your father work?”
“My father is a blacksmith.”
Then, the director asked the young man to show him his hands. They were soft and perfect.
“Have you ever helped your parents at their job?” the director continued.
“Never. My parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, he can do the job better than I can.”
“I have a request for you,” said the director. “When you go home today, go and wash the hands of your father, and then come see me tomorrow morning.”
The young man left feeling good about the interview.
That night, when he returned home, he asked his father if he would allow him to wash his hands.
His father felt rather strange about the request, but agreed.
The young man washed his father’s hands, little by little. It was the first time that he noticed all the wrinkles and scars on his father’s hands.
Some bruises on his hands were so painful that his skin shuddered upon being touched.
It was the first time that the young man recognized what it meant for this pair of hands to have worked every day to be able to pay for his studies.
The bruises on his father’s hands were the price that he paid for his child’s education and future.
After cleaning his father’s hands, the young man stood in silence, then began to tidy up his father’s workshop. That night, the father and son talked for a long time.
The next morning, the young man returned to the director’s office. The director noticed the tears in his eyes.
“Can you tell me what you did, and what you learned yesterday?” he asked the young man.
“I washed my father’s hands. When I finished, I stayed and cleaned his workshop.” He continued, “Now I know what it is to appreciate and recognize that, without my parents, I would not be who I am today. By helping my father, I now realize how difficult it is to do something on my own. I have come to appreciate the importance and the value in helping the family.”
The director looked at him with an earnest expression.
“This is what I look for in my people. I want to hire someone who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the hardship of others. You are hired.”
A child who has been coddled constantly usually develops a self-righteous mentality, and will always put himself first, ignoring the efforts of his parents.
You can give your child a big house, good food, computer classes, and a flat-screen TV. But when you’re washing the floor or re-painting a wall, please let him experience that, too.
The most important thing is that your children learn to appreciate the lives you have given them, and to experience the difficulties of life, to have the ability to work with others to get things done.
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