Would You Put Your Coat Around Me?

I am currently reading Stephen Covey’s book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ and in one of the chapters he narrated a story about a camping trip that he went on with his sons.

The aim was to bond while having fun.
They played games, wrestled, ate and just had fun.

After a long day, he set out with his sons on the trip back home. At this time, his younger son had fallen asleep and he had to carry him back to the car while the older son trudged along.
It was a cold evening so he put his coat over the sleeping boy’s body and they all got in the car and headed home.

When they arrived he decided to relive the day’s experience with his older son who was still awake as he was sure he had totally enjoyed the activities they had engaged in. He asked several questions to find out what part of the day’s activities the young boy enjoyed most but he wasn’t as responsive as anticipated, he probed further only to find out that the boy who had turned his back to him was crying.

When he asked what the matter was, the little boy who was visibly embarrassed asked a simple question ‘Dad, if I were cold would you put your coat around me’?

Apparently of all the day’s events the one that stuck and resonated most with the little boy’s mind was the simple gesture of his father putting his coat over the younger brother to keep him warm.

If his father had not paid enough attention he probably may have gone on to think going out, playing games and having fun with his sons was all he needed to do to bond with them. While that was good the one gesture that touched his son’s heart was one that showed that their father cared enough to keep his son warm even when it meant exposing himself to the cold.

Truth is oftentimes we get busy trying to ensure that bills are paid and that our loved ones get the life we think they deserve that we forget to stop and just listen to them. This is not to say that we shouldn’t work hard to care for our loved ones, by all means give them comfort and security but the truly important things are worth more than money can pay for.

So the next time you feel like all your efforts to touch your child, spouse, sibling, relative or friend’s heart isn’t yielding fruits and that they are not appreciative of all the sacrifices you make to ensure their comfort remember that if you would be patient and take time to listen you may find out that they may have just one question on their minds…’when life gets cold, even if it means exposing yourself to the cold, would you put your coat around me’?