To a child, LOVE is spelled T-I-M-E

My hubby sent this email to me to share with our Smarty readers. It’s from a quote from a book by Mac Anderson, Founder of Simple Truths.

Here’s Randy:

Jen, this is a good follow-up to the “Do I Play With My Kids Enough?” blog and perfect timing since summertime has no hectic schedules and allows for these types of days … It inspired me to make the following plans with all of the kids on Father’s Day.

9a-10a: church
10:45-11:45a: fishing
12-12:30p: lunch
1-2p driving range
4-6p pool/tennis/dinner

From Mac Anderson:
In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here.

It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover. Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present aloneness.

Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown son’s childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the children’s old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head.

Opening the yellowed pages, he glanced over a short reading, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul. It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six-year-old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten.

Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son’s simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But how different?

Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over the years, he closed his son’s journal and turned to leave, having forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search. Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down a carpeted stairway that led to the den.

Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other. His was leather-bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his son’s was tattered and the name Jimmy had been nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters, as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use.

As he opened his journal, the old man’s eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words:
Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn’t catch a thing.
With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy’s journal and found the boy’s entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters, pressed deeply into the paper, read:
Went fishing with my Dad. Best day of my life.

The story you just read is the introduction for To a Child LOVE is Spelled T-I-M-E. It was written by my co-author Lance Wubbles, a best selling author for inspirational books. Here’s the story behind the story…

A few years ago I had the idea to write a book called To a Child LOVE is Spelled T-I-M-E. I then shared the idea with my friend Lance Wubbels. Lance loved the concept and about a week later, sent me an email with his story attached. He said, “How do you like this story as an introduction for the book?”

I can count on one hand the times in my life that I’ve been blown away by something that was written. This was one of those times! This story bypassed my brain and went right to my soul. I immediately knew it was the perfect way to begin a book on this very important topic. I’m also pleased to say that we’ve sold over 100,000 copies of this little book, and that it won the Gold Medallion Award for the inspirational gift book of the year (from over 500 entries). The photos, the quotes, and the stories will all “knock your socks off.”