Rick Warren's Daily DevotionalSample

Legacy: Presence Every parent longs to leave a positive legacy in their children, but what does it take? The gift of your presence: Sometimes just being there is what matter most to your kids. One day, my daughter came home crushed after not making the color guard in eighth grade. Sobbing, she went and sat on the floor of her walk-in closet. But one by one, each member of our family entered her room and crawled into the closet just to sit on the floor with her in silence and cry with her. None of us tried to talk her out of her grief. We didn't minimize her pain. We didn't change the subject. We didn't try to get her to look at the bright side of what had happened. We didn't urge her to try harder next time. We just sat there and hurt with her. Jesus said we should, "Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep." (Romans 12:15 TEV) That is the essence of empathy; it is the gift of presence.