you create your own destiny

let me tell you a story.

three construction workers are on top of their half-finished skyscraper. "rrrrrrrrrrnnnnggg!!!!!" the lunch bell sounds, and the three men sit on a steel beam of the 56th floor with their lunch boxes in hand.

the first guy opens his and groans in exasperation, "tuyo! there is not a day that i dont get tuyo for lunch!" he turns to his buddies and announces, "mark my words. if i still get tuyo tomorrow, i'm going to throw myself from this building."

the second guy opens his lunch box and moans, "tinapa! everyday, i get this for lunch." he looks at his friends and declares, "believe me when i say this. if i get tinapa tomorrow, i'm going to jump from here and kill myself."

the third guy opens his lunch box and it is his turn to despair, "galunggong. all i get is galunggong!" he looks at his co-workers and says, "im telling you, if i still get galunggong tomorrow, i'm going to jump from this building and die."

the next day, the lunch bell rings and all three men are again seated on the 56th floor.

the first guy opens his lunch box and starts crying, "tuyooooooo!!!!" and so in front of his shocked companions, he jumps off the building and crashes to the ground.
the second guy opens his lunch box and wails loudly, "tinapaaaaaaa!!!!" and before his remaining friend, he jumps off the building and hits the ground and dies.
the third guy opens his lunch box and screams, "galunggonggggg!!!" and so he too jumps off the building and dies.

days later, during the funeral of the three men, their three wives embrace and begin to weep together. the first wife cries out, "i didn't know my husband didn't like tuyo anymore! why didn't he tell me? if only he had told me, i would have prepared something else!"
the second wife echoes her statement, "yes! if only i knew, i would have cooked something else, not tinapa!"
the third wife, between sobs, says, "i don't know why my husband killed himself." the two wives looked at her curiously. "why?"

she goes on, "because... my husband prepared his own lunch every day."

i just love that crazy story because it presents a very important truth: all of us prepare our own lunch. if we don't like our jobs, if we don't like the state of our mind, if we don't like what's happening to our spiritual lives-----we have no one to blame but ourselves.

because God gave us free will.
He has given us the power to prepare our own lunch.
if we want to put more joy in our relationships, if we want to grow in our relationship with God, if we want to earn more and be free from debt----then go back to your kitchen and prepare yourself another dish.

because you design your own future.
you create your own destiny.
use the power that is given to you by God.