Grace is entering her 4th year of HUGS sponsorship at Medical School in Gulu, Northern Uganda. She sent this thought provoking story.
Story of Appreciation
One young academically excellent person
went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.
He passed the first interview, the
director did the last interview, made the last decision.
The director discovered from the CV that
the youth’s academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the
secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did
not score.
The director asked, “Did you obtain any
scholarships in school?” the youth answered “none”.
The director asked, “ Was it your father
who paid for your school fees?” The youth answered, “My father passed away when
I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees. The director asked, “ Where did your
mother work?” The youth answered, “My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The
director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of
hands that were smooth and perfect.
The director asked, “ Have you ever
helped your mother wash the clothes before?” The youth answered, “Never, my
mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother
can wash clothes faster than me.
The director said, “I have a request.
When you go back today, go and
clean your mother’s hands, and then see
me tomorrow morning.*
The youth felt that his chance of landing
the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him
clean her hands. His mother felt
strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.
The youth cleaned his mother’s hands
slowly. It was the first time he noticed that his
mother’s hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. This was the first
time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes
everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother’s hands
were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic
excellence and his future. After
finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the
remaining clothes for his mother. Next morning, the youth went
to the director’s office.
The Director asked: “ Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday
in your house?” The youth answered, “ I cleaned my mother’s hand, and also
finished cleaning all the remaining clothes’ The Director asked, “ please tell
me your feelings.” The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation.
Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working
together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it
is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance
and value of family relationship. The
director said, “ This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to
recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the
sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money
as his only goal in life. You are hired.
Later on, this young person worked very
hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently
and as a team. The company’s performance improved tremendously.
You can let your kid live in a big house,
eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting
grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates
and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do
not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a
right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are,
one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The
most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and
experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get
things done.
