My mother in law sent me this. Kind of long but a good story.
Princess
> Once there was a young boy who lived with his father in a
> cottage deep in the forest. His father worked him hard from
> sunrise to sunset and still almost every evening he would
> hear his father say the same thing:
>
> "Poor me! Poor me! I will die a sad old man because you are
> a fool and will never amount to anything."
>
> But the boy was not a fool He showed a lot of wisdom for his
> age and had a generous heart. One day, after helping an old
> widow stack some wood, he was about to go home when she
> stopped him, placed her hand on his head and said, "You are
> a reflection of the face of God.
> The world is brighter for the joy you have given me this
> day. I bless you my child!"
>
> The boy stepped back, amazed: "What was that?"
>
> "Why, it was a blessing my child! Haven't you ever received
> a blessing?"
>
> Back at home he asked,: "Papa? Why do you curse me? Why do
> you not bless me?"
>
> "What a ridiculous question! Because it is against my nature
> to bless and I will not do what feels so unnatural to me.
> What a ridiculous question. Poor me! Poor me! I will die a
> sad old man because you are a fool and will never amount to
> anything."
>
> "Oh." said the boy, and he felt sorry for his father, but
> that night he decided that no matter how uncomfortable it
> felt, he would become the kind of person who blessed others.
> And so
> he did.
>
> The boy grew to be a man, left the forest and built a home
> for himself in the meadowlands. In time he had a family of
> his own. He was still haunted by the curses of his father,
> and it would make him sad for days at a time, but he had
> decided to bless, so even though he felt sad, almost every
> evening, he would call one of his children to himself, lay
> his hand upon their head and speak these words: "You are a
> reflection of the face of God. The world is brighter for the
> joy you give me this day. I bless you my child."
>
> One night he had a dream in which he saw his father and
> heard him saying over and over: "Poor me! Poor me! I will
> die a sad old man because you are a fool and will never
> amount to
> anything."
>
> It upset him so much he woke up, got out of bed, and went
> out into the backyard. He stood there by the trees in the
> moonlight and was so angry his hands became fists as he
> spoke out loud to the wind: "What's the point in being
> someone who blesses? I'm still so haunted by these curses of
> my father! Well, maybe I should curse as well!"
>
> And he kicked the ground as hard as he could which shook
> loose a stone. He picked it up to throw and just then the
> wind became very strong and he thought he heard a voice: "Do
> not
> discard your father's heart!"
>
> He looked at the trees and then at the rock in his hands.
> The voice called again: "Do not discard your father's
> heart!"
>
> "Who are you?"
>
> "I am the Father of every son and daughter and I tell you,
> the stone you hold in your hand is like the condition of
> your father's heart!"
>
> He looked at the rock. He could tell it was badly misshapen,
> that it had broken off from a larger rock and had many
> cracks and flaws. Again the voice: "You can try to change
> this rock. You can press it until your fingers bleed, but
> you will not succeed in changing it! Neither will you
> succeed in changing the heart of your father by force or
> manipulation. Hold your father's heart gently within your
> own and pray for him. You have no idea what forces shaped
> this rock. Neither do you know
> the forces that shaped the heart of your father. Hold your
> father's heart gently within your own and pray for him."
>
> "When did his heart become like this?"
>
> "When he chose to curse instead of bless. But do not become
> proud...Your heart would look just like this, if I had not
> blessed you as a child."
>
> "I only remember the old woman."
>
> "The voice was hers, but the words were mine."
>
> "Then why didn't you bless my father when he was a child?"
>
> "I bless every one of my children. But I never force them to
> bless in return. In eternity you will have no questions. For
> now, it is enough that you decide to bless and not curse."
>
> "Father of every son and daughter, bless my father."
>
> And as soon as he spoke these words, the wind died down and
> everything became peaceful in the countryside and in the
> heart of the young man. He went back inside, put the rock in
> a safe place, laid down and went right to sleep. He had the
> best night sleep he'd had for a long time.
> And from then on whenever he recalled one of the curses of
> his father, he genuinely prayed a
> blessing on his father, and in time began to experience true
> healing and a strong peace within.
> One evening there was a knock on the front door and as he
> had raised his children to do, they welcomed in a blind
> beggar, sat him down at the kitchen table, and gave him some
> food to eat. The young man walked in and immediately
> recognized it was his own father. But he didn't reveal his
> own identity. He listened to the old man speak. And the old
> man talked about how his son had abandoned him, how he had
> lost his eyesight, and how he'd been forced to beg in a
> world where life was hard.
>
> Just then his son spoke up: "Grandfather! You're welcome to
> stay here with us!"
>
> "But I have no money to pay you."
>
> "Oh, we don't need any money; all we ask is that as long as
> you stay with us, you speak only blessings. -- What's the
> matter?"
>
> "It...it's against my nature to bless!"
>
> "Grandfather, I can tell by your hands that you have worked
> your whole life. So, begging must be against your nature as
> well, but see, it has brought you here to us!"
>
> The old man couldn't argue this point, so he agreed to stay,
> but it was weeks before he spoke a word - it was so against
> his nature to bless. When he finally did, you could hardly
> hear him:
>
> "What's that Grandfather?"
>
> "I said, bless you for taking an old man in from the cold. I
> wish my son had turned out like you, but he was a fool
> and..."
>
> "Ah! Grandfather, only blessings!"
>
> "Well, I wish my son had turned out like you! Bless you!"
>
> Wasn't bad for a first blessing! And a week later he spoke
> another one and it was a little smoother. And the next day
> he spoke two - and they were a lot smoother. Then he began
> to
> bless every day -- many times in a day. He really got into
> it! You could say that blessing
> became... second nature to him. And the more he blessed,
> the more he smiled. And the more he smiled the more his face
> softened. And the more his face softened, the more his heart
> softened and the more his heart softened, the more joy he
> began to experience; a different kind of joy than he had
> known before.
>
> They lived happily for years until one winter the old man
> fell ill and was near death. As his breathing grew labored,
> his son sat on the bedside and asked: "Grandfather, is there
> anything
> I can get for you?"
>
> "No one can bring me what I most need at this hour."
>
> "Please Grandfather, anything! What would you like?"
>
> "I should like to see my own son once more to give him my
> blessing. As he was growing I gave only curses. I told him
> it was against my nature to bless. And, as you can see, I
> have learned to bless too late..."
>
> Then his son leaned closer and whispered: "Papa! Papa it's
> me, your own son... I am here! It is not too late! God has
> seen fit to bring us together these last years...It's not
> too late! I'm here... I'm here!"
>
> And they embraced. A moment later the old man straightened
> up, stretched out a trembling hand, laid it upon his son's
> head, and spoke these words: "You are a reflection of the
> face of
> God. Though I cannot see you with my eyes, I see you with my
> heart and the mercy you have
> shown me these past years is like a brilliant light,
> dispelling all shadow as I pass from time into
> eternity. I will die a happy, happy old man, because I have
> learned to bless and so...my son... I... bless you."
>
> And with these words, his hand fell back down to his chest
> and he died with this beautiful smile on his face. Later
> that night the young man took the stone out of the place he
> had put it years before and he sat at the kitchen table by
> candlelight. Turning it over and over in his hands, a single
> tear fell onto the rock and it split in two. Inside was a
> priceless stone; smooth to the
> touch and sparkling in beauty. Just then the wind became
> very strong outside and he got up to
> close the shutter, but then again he heard the ancient
> voice: "Eternity shines brighter for the joy
> you bring me this day. And I bless you my child."
>
> Then the wind died down and everything became peaceful in
> the countryside and in the heart
> of the young man.
>
> God sees hidden in every person's heart a precious jewel.
> Please don't give up on those that have cursed you in the
> past. "Give blessings and you will be blessed," is a
> powerful Biblical
> principle.