I dreamed I had an interview with God. 

"So you would like to interview me?" God asked.

"If you have the time" I said. 

God smiled. "My time is eternity."
"What questions do you have in mind for me?"

"What surprises you most about humankind?"

God answered...
"That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then 
long to be children again."

"That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health."

"That by thinking anxiously about the future, 
they forget the present,  such that they live in neither 
the present nor the future."

"That they live as if they will never die,  and die
as though they had never lived."

God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked...
"As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?"

"To learn they cannot make anyone  love them.
All they can do  is let themselves be loved."

"To learn that it is not good 
to compare themselves to others."

"To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness."

"To learn that it only takes a few seconds  to open
profound wounds in those they love,  and it can take
many years to heal them." 

"To learn that a rich person  is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least."

"To learn that there are people  who love them dearly, 
but simply have not yet learned  how to express
or show their feelings."

"To learn that two people can  look at the same thing 
and see it differently."

"To learn that it is not enough that they  forgive one another,
but they must also forgive themselves."

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly. 

"Is there anything else  you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said,  "Just know that I am here... always." 

                                                                                      -author unknown