There once was
a little boy who had a bad temper. His
father gave him a bag of nails and told him that
every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a
nail into the back of the fence.
The first day
the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.
Over the next few weeks, as he learned to
control his anger, the number of nails hammered
daily gradually dwindled down. He
discovered it was easier to hold his temper than
to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day
came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.
He told his father about it and he father
suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for
each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally
able to tell his father that all the nails were
gone.
The father took
his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
He said , "You have done well, my son, but look
at the holes in the fence. The fence
will never be the same. When you say
things in anger, they leave a scar just like
this one. You can put a knife in a man and
draw it out. It won't matter how many
times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still
there. '"
The little boy
then understood how powerful his words were.
He looked up at this father and said "I hope you
can forgive me father for the holes I put in
you. "
"Of course I
can'" said the father.
It's not always
anger, it is your actions in general.
There are no "fresh starts" in life. There
is no new beginning. Forgiveness
comes easy for many people but the scars of the
past, they never go away. Watch what you
do today, because sometimes the price isn't
worth the reward.
