We owe it to our parents wherever we are today, whatever we have made of ourselves. We must make it a point to show them our gratitude for everything that they have provided and taught us. Whatever gesture we choose to express our appreciation, it is important that they know how much we love them.

Some of us have been in very unfortunate circumstances and have been tempted to neglect or abandon their parents because of pride, selfishness or other personal reasons. Some of us have even been made to choose between their parents and their own family by a selfish spouse. We should be proud for those who were strong enough to be unyielding. I am sure they have been rewarded accordingly. Here’s a narrative about an ungrateful son who recognized the greatness of his mother after it was too late and will be haunted forever.

A true story has been told about a baby boy, David who was born to a certain family. The mother was so excited that she hardly put him down. One day she left him sleeping and went to the garden. When she was there, the house caught fire and she ran back home as fast as possible to save her only son.

People tried to stop her but they didn’t succeed. She went in and found the baby untouched. Unfortunately her hair caught fire as she was going out and she started burning. It was very bad for the rest of her life because she had to live with a scar.

The boy grew up and became very rich and shifted to town. But in the real sense, he was ashamed of his mother's scars. When people asked him, he would say, "l don’t have someone so ugly in our family as my mother".

One day his mom overheard how his son was telling people and she was very disappointed. She decided to travel to town to explain to his only son what had happened and the reason behind her ugliness. But unfortunately, the bus she was traveling with, got an accident and the mom died instantly.

The boy heard of the news, and felt very happy. He then rushed to the village and found people sad. He just passed them and went direct to her mother's room to search for important documents. He was shocked to find her mom’s oldest diary book written:

DATE: 5th Sept 1980. I was announced the WINNER OF MISS TORONTO BEAUTY CONTEST.

DATE: 14th Jan 1982 .My husband, Tonny Gateson passed away in road accident and left me six months pregnant.

DATE: 2nd July 1983.I saved my only son David from a fire and I ended up losing my hair while scars left on my face.

David felt too bad and started crying, but it was too late, too late!

We should never try to abuse, neglect nor ignore our parents. The greatest of all in the eyes of God is the amount of love that we give to our parents.  Sirach 3:1-16 describes our duties and the consequences of dealing with them. We obey Him when we honor our father and we please Him when we make our mother happy. The Lord does not forget our love and kindness to them. He does not ignore our indifference to them either. Serving them is more of a privilege than an obligation.

Let’s not wait until they are six feet below the ground enclosed in a stone and engrave those priceless words on a marble for others to see. Let’s tell and show them how we care and love them and don’t feel terrible later if we fail to express those wonderful words of love and affection while they still live.  It will be too late and we will be haunted forever.

By Tim Pedrosa

Tim