My Lucky Day

            The following story I found in a bulletin article written by Don R. Williams over twenty years ago. It was so encouraging that I decided to include both the story and Don’s application. Enjoy:

                                                            MY LUCKY DAY

". . . this is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. "  (Psalms 118:24)

            Garland Chapman, principal of Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas, relates an experience during his days as a grade school principal.  A little second grade boy started out the morning by falling from the school bus and hitting his head on the concrete--required three stitches to close the gash! 

            Recess proved a little unfortunate as he and another boy ran together -result:  two of his teeth were loosened and a lip busted. 

            During the afternoon he fell and broke an arm.  Mr. Chapman decided to take the boy home immediately before anything else could happen. 

            They were riding together when the principal noticed the little guy clutching something in his hand.  "What do you have?” the principal asked. 

            "A quarter," answered the boy. 

            "Where did you get it?"  Mr. Chapman asked. 

            "I found it on the playground today," explained the little man.  Then he smiled and with an excited voice exclaimed, "You know, Mr. Chapman, I have never found a quarter before.  This is my lucky day!"

            So much is dependent not on how the day looks at us--but on how we look at the day.  Some people miss seeing the roses behind a broken fence.  Every day has its problems, but faith can turn them into blessings.  Each beautiful butterfly looks rather uneventful at its beginning-but what a change the day makes.

--Don R. Williams

The Builder

This parable was sent to me over ten years ago. No one knows who wrote it, but I hope you enjoy it.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the 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.

The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project".  Who could say it more clearly?  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.

--Author unknown

                                                                                       

Psalm 118:24 (NIV)
24 The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.

Bad Groundhog Day

At our staff meeting the other day, someone told us about a person, he saw on THE TODAY SHOW, who maintained little short-term memory. Every day, she woke up to a new world. She retained little from previous experiences.

We were discussing the implications of that, when someone else said, “What if you had her condition, and each day you woke up, was a bad day?” I gnawed on that a moment, and then it hit me. I know people who do experience that. Everyday IS a bad day. It is a negative day.

For some reason, maybe abuse, maybe a bad childhood, but for some reason, the individual wakes up and decides to experience the same negative day—every day. 

I pity people who live that life.