Sandcastles

Sand Castles.....by Max Lucado.

Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.A little boy is on the beach.
On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a
bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts
it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is
created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls.
Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A
sandcastle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic. A man is in his office.

At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments.
He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with
his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to
the delight of the man, a profit is made.
All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the
future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An
empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape
granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They
are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the
end will come.

Yet, that is where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end
while the man ignores it.

So, one is prepared and one isn't. One is peaceful while the other
panics.

As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to
clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would
happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into
his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. Hesmiles, picks up his tools, takes his Father's hand, and goes home

A Woman's Secret

There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one daythe little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would notrecover....In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.

When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of moneytotaling $25,000. He asked her about the contents."When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if Iever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.

"The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears.
Only twoprecious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him twotimes in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst withhappiness......"Honey," he said, "that explains the dolls, but what about all of thismoney?

Where did it come from?""Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling all the dolls..."