Wooden bowls …

I came across this story several years ago. The lesson contained
in it makes it worth re-telling. The original author is unknown.

A frail old man lived with his son, his daughter-in-law, and his
four-year-old grandson. His eyes were blurry, his hands trembled, and
his step faltered.

The family would eat together nightly at the
dinner table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing
sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon, droping
to the floor. When he grasped his glass of milk, it often splashed
clumsily onto the tablecloth.

With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

“We must do something about grandfather,” said the son.

“I’ve had enough of his milk spilling, noisy eating and food on the floor,” the daughter-in-law agreed.

So the couple set a small table in the corner.

There,
grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their meals
at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his
food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family glanced in
grandfather’s direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate 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 replied, “Oh, I’m making a
little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up.” The
four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

These words so struck
the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their
cheeks. Though no words were 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 days, grandfather 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 was spilled
or the table cloth was soiled.

“Do to others as you would like them to do to you,” Luke 6:31.

Scotty