THE CARPENTER

THE CARPENTER

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 his career.

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 home 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.

Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that
we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we
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.

For More Information Contact: The Real Building Manual written and
inspired by The Master Carpenter of Life!

– Author Unknown

THE CHOICE

THE CHOICE

He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on
the ground.

All of the Garden’s inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks
hovered.  Giraffes stretched.  Trees bowed.  Butterflies paused on
petals and watched.

“You will love me, nature,” God said.  ”I made you that way.  You
will obey me, universe.  For you were designed to do so.  You will
reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created.  But this
one will be like me. This one will be able to choose.”

All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed
something yet unseen.   A seed.  ”It’s called ‘choice.’  The seed of
choice.”

Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.

An angel spoke, “But what if he…”

“What if he chooses not to love?” the Creator finished.  ”Come, I
will show you.”   Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the
realm of tomorrow.  ”There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both
the sweet and the bitter.”

The angel gasped at what he saw.  Spontaneous love.  Voluntary
devotion. Chosen tenderness.  Never had he seen anything like these.
He felt the love of the Adams.   He heard the joy of Eve and her
daughters.

He saw the food and the burdens shared.  He absorbed the kindness and
marveled at the warmth.

“Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord.  Truly, this is your
greatest creation.”

“Ah, but you’ve only seen the sweet.  Now witness the bitter.” A
stench enveloped the pair.   The angel turned in horror and
proclaimed,

“What is it?”

The Creator spoke only one word: “Selfishness.”

The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of
repugnance.  Never had he seen such filth.  Rotten hearts. Ruptured
promises.  Forgotten loyalties.  Children of the creation wandering
blindly in lonely labyrinths.

“This is the result of choice?  the angel asked.

“Yes.”

“They will forget you?”

“Yes.”

“They will reject you?”

“Yes.”

They will never come back?

“Some will.  Most won’t.”

“What will it take to make them listen?”

The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future,
until he stood by a tree.   A tree that would be fashioned into a
cradle.  Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him.

With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It
stood alone, a stubborn ruler on a bald hill.  The trunk was thick,
and the wood was strong.  Soon it would be cut.  Soon it would be
trimmed.  Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill.
And soon he would be hung on it.

He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear.

“Will you go down there?” the angel asked.

“I will.”

“Is there no other way?”

“There is not.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to not plant the seed?   Wouldn’t it be easier
to not give the choice?”

“It would,” the Creator spoke slowly.  ”But to remove the choice is
to remove the love.”

He look around the hill and foresaw a scene.  Three figures hung on
three crosses.  Arms spread.  Heads fallen forward.  They moaned with
the wind.  Men clad in soldier’s garb sat on the ground near the
trio.  They played games in the dirt and laughed.

Men clad in religion stood off to one side.  They smiled. Arrogant,
cocky. They had protected God, they thought by killing this false one.

Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill.  Speechless.
Faces tear streaked.  Eyes downward.  One put her arm around another
and tried to lead her away.  She wouldn’t leave.  ”I will stay,” she
said softly, “I will stay.”

All heaven stood to fight.  All nature rose to rescue.  All eternity
poised to protect.  But the Creator gave no command.

“It must be done…,” he said, and withdrew.

But as he stepped in time, he heard the cry that he would someday
scream:  ”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  He wrenched at
tomorrow’s agony.

The angel spoke again.  ”It would be less painful……..”

The Creator interrupted softly.  ”But it wouldn’t be love.”

They stepped into the Garden again.  The Maker looked earnestly at
the clay creation.   A monsoon of love swelled up within him.  He had
died for the creation before he had made him.  God’s form bent over
the sculptured face and breathed.  Dust stirred on the lips of the
new one.  The chest rose, cracking the red mud.  The cheeks
fleshened.  A finger moved.  And an eye opened.

But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of
the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped.  Perhaps it was
the wind that said it first.  Perhaps what the star saw that moment
is what has made it blink ever since.  Maybe it was left to an angel
to whisper it:

“It looks like … it appears to so much like … it is him!”

The angel wasn’t speaking of the face, the features, or the body.
He was looking inside – at the soul.

“It’s eternal!” gasped another.

Within the man, God has placed a divine seed.  A seed of his self (A
seed of choice).  The God of might had created earth’s mightiest…
And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in
return.

Now it’s our choice.

– Author Unknown

What Would You Do?

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——————-
MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#6179 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
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What Would You Do?
===================

Imagine this…

You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. It’s
raining heavily when suddenly you pass by a bus stop, and you
see three people waiting for a bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.

2. An old friend who once saved your life.

3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing very well
that there could only be one passenger in your car?
Think before you continue reading…

This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as
part of a job application.

You could pick up the old lady because she is going to die, and
thus you should save her first;

or you could take the old friend because he once saved your
life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back.

However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no
trouble coming up with his answer. Guess what his answer was?

He simply answered: “I would give the car keys to my old friend
and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind
and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.”

Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn
thought limitations. Never forget to “Think Outside of the Box.”

So what was yours?

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See you tomorrow.