This father found his daughter lying without clothes alongside a stranger - his reaction is something we can all learn from

There aren't many things in the world that are more difficult and challenging than being a parent.

At first you need to provide your child with food and warmth, but as time goes on, the role only grows and evolves in new directions. You have to teach the child what is allowed and what is not allowed, and how to behave with other people.

But one thing is certain: it takes a lot of courage to raise a child.

The Dutch father who shared the story you're about to read on reddit website has been acclaimed worldwide after discovering his daughter lying naked alongside a man he does not know.

The story is nothing short of amazing.

Here is what the father wrote:

Dad here. one morning i came down the stairs, seeing this exact scene: my 17 year old daughter with a young man. asleep after what must have been a night of 'hard labour'. i very quietly made breakfast, went back upstairs and told my wife, son and other (youngest) daughter to be very quiet because people were still asleep.

Our dining table is on the other side of the room, about 7 feet from the couch, but right in front of it. We all sat down and shouted 'Young man!' I've never seen anyone go from supine to standing up so quickly. "Breakfast is ready", I said in my authoritative and scary voice, as if I wanted to get his soul out of his left ear. I pulled out the chair next to me. "Sit down.." I told him, my family was silent. Stared at the plates. Didn't move.

Those must have been the 7 hardest and longest yards this young man, who was naked, ever walked. After putting on his clothes, which were at the dinner table, he sat down. My son (1.90 meters) patted his shoulder and looked into his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. This guy, whom none of us knew, was very scared and was extremely stressed. We could smell it. I said to him, "Friend, I'm going to ask you a question. The answer you will give me is very important.. for you..", at this point he was already sweating. "Do you like cats?"

He turned out to be a nice and sociable guy. Not the most educated person, but certainly not stupid. There was something strange about him. My daughter assured me that he was a nice and attentive guy. She had known him for about a month. After that morning he came to our house every day. But he never stayed to sleep.

Every morning he came to pick up my daughter to school on his bicycle, brought her home afterwards, and made sure she invested in school. He cared for her when she was sick and we were at work. He invested time and concern in her. He had the patience of an angel whenever she was in a mood.

He said he had no family, he had no education, and had no stable job. She admired him. He admired her. Who am I to prevent her from learning from her mistakes?

After being in contact for about 8 months, my son came up to me. He asked about the same guy. And it turns out he's homeless.

His father, who was abusive, committed suicide. His mother, a junkie, abandoned him 3 weeks later. They lived in a rented trailer.

He was 15 and survived 3 years in the streets. Sleeping on benches, in shelters, with 'friends', cheap motels. Worked at partial jobs, and my daughter first met him when he worked on a construction site while on her way to school. He's a handsome guy, and.. well.. every 17-year-old would think so.

And now, here I am. I knew a polite 18-19 year old boy who came in with a smile, walked out with a smile, who cares, who helps, and makes my daughter happy. A boy who never had a chance to be a boy. He had a father with a manic depression who committed suicide, and a junkie mother. Sometimes the neighbors arranged food for him, but he was often hungry.

Sometimes when he doesn't come to us because he has found a job, we miss him. They are not friends, but my son gets along well with him. My little daughter trusts him with closed eyes and my wife's maternal instinct suddenly comes into action. And me? I worry about him sometimes. I want him to be happy.

I told my wife and my young daughter what I found out about him. They cried. I had a hard time telling them. I was disappointed with my eldest daughter, she knew. She should have told us. She loves him but lets him go every night to.. where?

The next day, I gave him a key to our house. I told him I was expecting him to come back every evening. Home. In the weeks that followed, we renovated the extra room we had and took him with us to buy furniture. He had good hands. He wanted to be a boss of his own, he liked to build things. We took care that he will study, and he, for his part, invested in it.

That was in the year 2000. Now, 15 years later, my new son and daughter have a thriving business. They gave us 3 beautiful grandchildren, including twins. a boy and a girl.

This story was published in 2015 but.. Wow! What an amazing story. It makes us think we really have nothing to complain about - and this story is a wonderful reminder to so many people that life is an everyday difficulty.

Thank goodness there are people like this father who are able to open their hearts, and their home to help people that need help.