MargKeig's Carpenter & Missing Piece

Thought's To Ponder

The Carpenter

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just
finished a rough first day on the job.

A flat tire had made him lose an hour of work,his electric saw quit,
and now his ancient pickup truck refuses to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving he
invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door,
he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches
with both hands.

After opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation.
His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small
children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward, he walked me to my car. We passed the tree, and my
curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen
him do earlier.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. I know I can't help having
troubles on the job, but one thing for sure troubles don't belong in
the house with my wife and children.So I hang them up on the tree
every night when I come home.
Then in the morning I pick them up again"

"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick
them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the
night before."

The Missing Piece

This is a fairy tale for adults. It tells the story of a circle that
was missing a piece. A large triangular wedge had been cut out of it.
The circle wanted to be whole with nothing missing, so it went around
looking for its missing piece.

But because it was incomplete and therefore could only roll very
slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with with
worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of differant pieces,
but none that would fit.

So it left them all by the side of the road and continued searching.

Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so
happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated
the missing pieces into it and began to roll. Now that it was a
perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice the
flowers or talk to the worms.

When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so
quickly by: It stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road,
and rolled slowly away.

The Moral of the Story

In some strange sense we are more whole when
we are missing something.

The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never
know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his soul with
dreams of something better. He will never know the experience of
having someone who loves give him something he has always wanted
and never had.

There is a wholeness about the person who has to come to terms with
his own limitations., who has been brave enough to let go of his
unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. There
is wholeness about the man or woman who learned that he or she is
strong enough tothrough a tragedy and survive, who can lose someone
and still feel like a complete person. You have been though the worst
and come though intact.

Life is not a trap set for us by God so that he can condemn us for
failing. When we accept that imperfection is part of human being,
and that we can continue rolling though life and appreciating it, we
will achieve a wholeness that others can only aspire to.

And at the end, if we are brave enough to love, strong enough to
forgive generous enough to rejoice in another's happiness, and wise
enought to know there is enough love to go around for us all, then we
can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.

Always Have A Dream


Forget about the days when it's been cloudy
 
But don't forget your hours in the sun


Foget about the times you've been defeated,
 
But don't forget the victories you've won.


Forget about the mistakes,
 
that you can't change now 

But don't forget the lessons you have learned


Forget about the misfortunes you've encountered,
 
But don't forget the good times you have had.


Forget about the days, when you've been lonely,

 But don't forget the friendly smiles you've seen.


Forget about the plans,
 
that didn't seem to work out right,
 
But don't forget to always have a dream.

Story Of Courage and Love

Walking down a path though
some woods in Georgia in 1977, I saw
water puddles ahead on the path and
angled my directions to go around it on
the part of the path that wasn't covered
by water and mud.

As I reached the puddle, I was suddenly
attacked! Yet I did nothing - for the attack
was so unpredictable ans from a source so
Totally unexpected. I was startled, but
unhurt, despite having been struck four or
five times.

I backed up a step or two and the aggressor
stopped his attack. Instead he hovered in
the air on graceful butterfly wings in front
me. had I been hurt, I wouldn't have found
it amusing, But as I was unhurt, I found the
whole thing to be rather amusing and I found
myself laughing. after all, a butterfly
was attacking me!

Having stopped laughing, I took a step
forward and my attacker rushed me again,
ramming me in the chest with his head
and body. stricking me over and over
again with all his might, still to
no avail. for a second time.

I retreated and again my attacker relented.
yet again I tried moving forward and again
my attacker charged me, ramming me in the
chest, over and over again:

Unsure what to do, I retreated a third time.
After all it's just not everyday that one
is attacked by a butterfly. This time, I
stepped back several paces to look the
situation over. My attacker moved back as
well landing on the ground. That's when I
discovered why my attacker had charged me only
moments earlier.

He had a mate and she was dying. She was beside
the puddle where he landed. sitting close beside
her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan
her. I could only admire the love and courage
of the butterfly in his concern for his mate.

He had taken it upom himself to attack me for
the sake of his mate, even though she was
clearly dying, and as i was large he did so
just to give her those extra few precious moments
of life should i have been careless enough to
step on her.

Now I knoew why and what he was fighting for
and there was really only one option left
for me. I carefully made my around the puddle
to the other path, though it was only inches
wide and extremely muddy. His courage in
attacking something thousands of time
larger, and heavier than himself, just for
his mate's safety, justified it.

I couldn't do anything other than reward
him by walking on the more difficult side
of the puddle. He had truly earned those
moments to be with her, undisturbed.

I left them in peace for those last few moments
cleaning the mud from my boots when I reached
my car.

Since then, I've always tried to remember the
courage of the butterfly whenever I see hugh
obstacles facing me, I use that butterfly
courge as an inspiration and to remind
myself that good things are worth fighting for.

Author: Unknown