Charles Francis Adams was a political figure and diplomat who kept a diary of what he did with his time.
One entry in his diary read, “Went fishing with my son today…a day wasted”.
His son Brook Adams also kept a diary and on the very same day Brook Adams wrote in his diary, “Went fishing with my father, the most wonderful day of my life”.
Charles Adam’s thought a day fishing with his son was wasted whilst his son Brook saw it as the most wonderful investment his dad could make.
Quality time we spend with our sons and daughters is never wasted.
The Bible says:
Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. (Proverbs 17.6)
When our children and grandchildren stand at our graves it will not be our career that counts, but rather the time we invested in them.