A father's commitment

A friend of ours is a youth in his early twenties and is a mature, responsible, and a beautiful human being. This youth had had a difficult childhood. As he was growing up, his father had not been well placed and did not earn very well. Which meant that the family always had to deal with financial problems. But this guy was not one to be stopped. He took charge of himself and his family and paid for his studies by taking a few tutions. He went to college in the mornings , took tuitions in the evenings, paid for his and his siblings education . The tough times taught him to value the right qualities of life like hardwork, acceptance, and gratitude. He was a bright, comitted student . So once he passed his college he got selected in an MNC and currently is earning pretty well.

Once he was on his own feet, even though he knew he shouldnt be thinking like that, he couldnt stop himself from wondering why God had made his childhood so difficult. Why , like all other fathers, could his father not earn enough that he and his siblings have a comfortable childhood. Even though he never said it even to himself, perhaps he internally held his father responsible for the struggles he went through in his childhood.

A few days back , this friend, my hubby , me and another older friend ( someone who is in his mid 40s ) were out in a shop that sold electronic items. All of us went to different areas of the shop and were looking at things that interested us. At one point I noticed that the older friend and the youth were in deep discussion over a mobile. Not paying too much attention to them, I went about my duties.

After a while, the youth comes to me looking completely dazed. He says - You know today for the first time I saw what a father's commitment can be. Looking at my befuddled face, he went on to explain what had happened on the mobile counter.

The middle aged friend of ours had had a mobile with him that had become old with use and was almost outdated. He had really liked the mobile that they were looking at in the shop. It had all the basic functionalities that could make his life much easier.

But this middle aged man was hesitant to buy it. Apparently he had had only five thousand rupees in his pocket. And he had saved that money for his teenage son's tution. Though his heart badly wanted to buy the mobile, he struggled and put his urge aside.

This small incident moved the youth to no ends. The questions the youth had about his father, which he had such a tough time understanding so far, started to unravel. For the first time in his life he realized the situations his father must have gone through in his life in bringing his children up. He remembered how his parents had to give up all their desires so that they could give them the best of whatever they could.

After perhaps a long long time, he felt peace in his heart and his heart was filled with a lot of gratitude and unconditional love for his father.