Charles Francis Adams was an important political figure in the nineteenth century. He kept a diary and one day he made this entry: ‘Went fishing with my son today – a day wasted.’ His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary. On that same day, he wrote: ‘Went fishing with my father – the most wonderful day of my life!’
I wonder if Charles Francis Adams remembered that and still thought the same at the end of his life. It’s unfortunate that it takes most of us a lifetime to work out that the most important people are our kids and that we can never replace time spent with them, whereas we can’t even remember the things that once seemed so pressing.
Jesus had no doubts about it. When his disciples tried to keep children away from him he told them: ‘The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’