I read this story on a Facebook page “The Monk who sold his Ferrari”.
A very simple but motivational story.
I found it worth sharing, I hope you all will like it too.
A man was asked to paint a boat.
He brought with him paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him.
While painting, he noticed that there was a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.
When finished painting, he received his money and left.
The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.
The painter was surprised and said "You've already paid me for painting the boat Sir!"
"But this is not for the paint job. It's for having repaired the hole in the boat."
"Ah! But it was such a small service... certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant."
"My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened.
When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention about the hole.
When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.
They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.
When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.
Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.
Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your 'small' good deed."
How do you go about your daily lives? How do you attend to your work? Do you just barely do what is expected of you, do you not even meet those expectations, or do you go above and beyond? You have heard the saying you only get what you put in to it. Currently, it is easy to get bitter about things not going our way. It is easy to look at the world around us and get discouraged. That is exactly when you need to look inside yourself and determine are you a person who goes along with the crowd, which seems to be most people, or someone who is willing to change your own life and the lives of everyone around you. Don’t think that good habits, good values go unnoticed. If no one else sees it believe me GOD DOES. Maybe you think your life is fine. The world is fine. No need for any improvement. Then just go on like change doesn’t matter. The good old days are gone and forgotten. Is the cross and Jesus just a bible story to you? Look around you carefully repair all the 'leaks' you find, because you never know when one needs to be repaired or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone. Try going the extra mile, it may change the world. At the very least it may change you. Live like every day, every life is worth it,
You may repair numerous 'boat holes' along the way... of several people without realizing how many lives you've saved.
Make the most of today!
Rev. Walter Coy
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