An elderly carpenter told his
employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business
to retire, and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended
family. He would miss the paycheck, but he feel he needed to retire. They could
get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and
asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The
carpenter said yes, but in time it can be seen that his heart was
not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior
materials.
When the
carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house,
the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your
house,” he said, “my gift to you.”
What a shock! What a shame! If
he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it
all so differently. Now he had to live in the house he had built none too
well.
So it is with us. We
build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting,
willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give
the job our best effort.
What a shock the carpenter had when he look at the situation and find that he is now living in the house he had built. If he had realized, he would
have done it differently.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think
about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a
wall, build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you
live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously
and with dignity.
Your life today
is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life
tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make
today.
SHARED FROM: http://academictips.org/blogs/
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