The story goes that some time
ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping
paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate
a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the
gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again
when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know,
when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The
little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's
not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged
for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told
that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he
was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of
the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold
container filled with unconditional love and kisses... from our children, family
members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could
hold, more precious than this.