An older carpenter who had worked for a home building construction company for many years was ready to retire. He went to the owner and sat down with him to tell him of his plans to retire and enjoy life with his family. The owner tried to talk him out of it because the carpenter had been with him so long and was his best and most reliable employee. He thanked the owner, but told him that although he would miss the paycheck, it was time to move into another stage in life.
The owner 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 as time went on, it was easy to see that the carpenter’s heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and took shortcuts and even used inferior materials. It was a sad way to end a long-term career.
When the carpenter finished his work the owner came to inspect the house. He walked up and instead, he handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "it's my gift to you and your wife in appreciation for all your years of dedicated work."
The carpenter was shocked! If only he had known that he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
The lesson here is that we often do the same thing. We build our lives, a day at a time, and sometimes, we put shoddy workmanship, or take shortcuts, putting in less than our best efforts. Suddenly, with a shock we realize we that this is IT! This is the life we have to live. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently, but we cannot go back.
It’s been said that life is a do-it-yourself project; your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the "house" you live in tomorrow. Build wisely!
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