Choir Notes

Time for Our Children
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4266

When we hear the word investment, most of us think of investing our money in hopes that it will grow and yield a large return. Some of us feel lucky to have enough money to meet our daily basic needs, let alone to invest any. But in one way, we are all equally rich: We all wake up with 24 hours in each new day. How will we spend those hours? How can we get the largest return on our investment?

The story is told of a boy whose father once gave him a box with a note inside promising the boy one hour of time every day, right after dinner. And it was good for a whole year. For 365 hours, the boy could spend time with his father playing, talking together, whatever the boy chose. And every year, the father renewed that promise. Now a successful attorney, the son looks back on that as the greatest gift he has ever been given—the gift of time from his father.

The wealthiest people in the world cannot buy a gift as valuable as that. But everyone, no matter how wealthy, can make such a wise investment of time. When a parent spends time with a child, together they forge a bond of love that transcends anything that could be purchased. The toys and other things parents buy for their children eventually break down, wear out, and are forgotten. But those precious moments spent together will live forever.

When we invest time in our relationships, we are building a legacy beyond description, a treasure that will outlast all material gifts. Time is truly the best investment—in our children and in everyone we love. Nothing else even comes close.