An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer- contractor of
his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life
with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but 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
was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy
workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a
dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house.
He handed the front-door key to the carpenter.

This is your house, he said, my gift to you.

The carpenter was shocked! What a shame!

If he had only known he was building his own,
he would have done it all so differently.

We do the most of the things having such thoughts in our mind. But we only
realize when it comes back to us.
So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than
our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the
house that we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently.
But we cannot go back.




You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board,
or erect a wall. Life is a do-it-yourself project, someone has said.
Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the house you
live in tomorrow. Build wisely!

What we do is what we get and what we have is what we did