THE LOVE OF A LITTLE GIRL FOR HER DADDr.
Tesfa G. Gebremedhin West Virginia University In an extensive survey conducted by the Associated Press
and MTV on what makes American young people happy, they found out that nearly
three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes
them happy. The survey also indicated that half of the respondents mentioned
both their parents as their heroes and take them as their role models. Our Eritrean
children are not different from the other young people in the survey. In many
of my seminars to the Eritrean youth in Diasporas, they have indicated to me many
times that their relationship with their parents certainly makes them very
happy. At one time, one particular Eritrean-American girl responded to me by
saying, My parents are my foundation
for my life. My Mom and Dad love me, no matter what. Just knowing that they
love me makes me very happy and blessed and I also love them very much, no
matter what. You can not imagine the kind of pride I felt to hear such
statements from such an Eritrean American girl. We may know that our children
love their parents, but we usually do not know how much they love their
parents. In most instances it is commonly observed that boys (sons) are very
close with their Mom and girls (daughters) are close with their Dad. We can
learn a good moral lesson from an interesting story about the love of a
little girl for her Dad, told by an unknown author; I received the story from
a good friend of mine. It was the month of December. Instead of celebrating
Christmas with joy and happiness, the family of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham with
their two young children was in agony and despair. Mr. Abraham was lying in
bed and he was in a terrible pain. He was diagnosed with painful brain tumor.
His wife was worried that her husband might die if he could not have immediate
surgery. The family did not have health insurance to cover his medical
expenses. Mom had to explain to her six-year old daughter and four-year old
son that their father was not feeling good because something bad is growing
in his head. She told them that Mommy and Daddy did not have money or health insurance
to take him to the hospital. She told them that only a miracle could save him
from this life-threatening illness. The little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass
jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on
the floor and counted it carefully three times to make sure that the total was
exactly perfect. Carefully placing the coins back in the jelly jar and twisting
on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way four blocks to a
Drug Store with the big Pharmacy sign on the wall above the front door. She
entered and waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention,
but he was too busy at that moment. The little girl twisted her feet to make
a scuffing noise and nothing happened. She cleared her throat with the most
disgusting sound she could muster, but there was no response. Finally, she
took a quarter from her jelly jar and banged it on the glass counter. That
did it! The pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. And what do you want? I am talking to my brother who came from out
of town; I have not seen him in ages, he said without waiting for a
reply to his question. Well, I want to
talk to you about my Daddy, the little girl answered back in the same
annoyed tone. My Daddy is really sick
and I want to buy a miracle. The pharmacist replied, I beg your pardon? She said, My Daddy has something bad growing inside
his head and my Mommy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does
a miracle cost? The pharmacist was not amused and said, softening a
little We don't sell miracles here,
little girl. I am sorry but I can't help you, The little girl answered,
Listen, I have the money to pay for
it. If it is not enough, I will try to get the rest. Just tell me how much it
costs. At that point in time, the pharmacist's brother, a well
dressed man, was at the pharmacy. He heard the conversation between the
pharmacist and the little girl with care and sympathy. He looked at the
little girl and asked her, What kind
of a miracle does your Daddy need? I don't know, the little girl
replied with her eyes welling up. I
just know he is really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But Mommy
and Daddy can not pay for it, so I want to use my money for the operation. How
much do you have? asked the brother of the pharmacist. One dollar and eleven cents, The
little girl answered barely audibly. And
it is all the money I have, but I will try to get some more if I need to.
Well, what a coincidence, smiled
the well dressed man. A dollar and
eleven cents is the exact price of a miracle for a Dad. He took her
money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said Take me to where you live. I want to see
your Daddy and meet your Mommy. Let me see in my briefcase if I have the
miracle you need. His name was Dr. Joseph Solomon, a well-known surgeon,
specializing in brain surgery. He met with the parents of the little girl and
took Mr. Abraham to the hospital. The operation was successful and completed
free of charge, and it wasn't long until Mr. Abraham was home again and doing
well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led
them to this place. The Mom whispered to her family and relatives, That surgery was a real miracle. I wonder
how much it would have cost us if we were to pay. The little girl smiled
and did not tell how much it was. The little girl knew exactly how much a
miracle cost; according to her it was one dollar and eleven cents. Truly, the cost for the operation was the sincere and genuine love of the little girl for her Daddy. The surgeon was at the pharmacy not by mere coincidence; he was a godsend because God/Allah does work in mysterious ways. It was really a miracle from above to observe such an event to happen in a family. The Almighty answered her prayer when He saw the innocent wishes and strong determination of the little girl to help her Daddy. The moral lesson of the story is that our children are the gift from God/Allah. Our children need to know that we love them very much the way they are, no matter what. We need to appreciate what they do and say, no matter what. We need to remember that quality in parenting is not what we put into it; it is what our children get out of our parenting. Our relationship with our children will always go right if we do the right thing. If we fail to establish a good and loving relationship with our children, they will obviously be at the utmost risk. The support of our Eritrean professionals and scholars in mentoring our youth is highly desirable to make a difference in our communities.
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