A woman knelt in prayer, and in anguish cried out to God:
  "Dear Lord, I can't compete in this world. I am just 
  a simple woman. I don't have perfect hair or perfect teeth, 
  a perfect smile or a perfect figure. I want so much to 
  fit in with this world that asks for perfection.  I want 
  to be loved and appreciated and needed.  Oh, God,
  please do something.  Change me."

  "My Dear Child, "replied the Lord," to me you are 
  simply wonderful. I accept you just as you are.  
  I knew you even when you were in your mother's womb, 
  and I have you engraved upon the palm of my hand. 
  Each part of you was created in my image.  And I am 
  changing you, daily.  But you see, I work differently 
  than the world.  I work from the inside out. 
  And deep within your heart, I see the beginning of....
  Perfection!"
  --  Author Unknown

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  When a friend is feeling sorrow
  That you wish that you could share,
  And no words of any language
  Can remove the grief they bear,
  When the unexpected shadows
  Fall across the path they trod,
  There is no human remedy,
  ...We have to go to God.
  
  When a brave heart's torn asunder,
  And its courage seems so small,
  There is no solace found in pain
  That over takes us all.

  When hot tears keep on falling
  'Til they drench the very sod,
  To find someone to dry them,
  ....We have to go to God.

  There's a reason for each heartache,
  Though we cannot see it now,
  And we grow with every sorrow,
  That Heaven will allow.
  Though we always seek the sunlight,
  Earth is still "a vale of tears"
  And only God can help us bear
  The burden of the years.
  We've simply got to trust Him,
  And we can't afford to doubt,
  Because He has created life,
  He knows what it's about.
  Because His dear feet also walked
  These narrow paths we trod,
  To heal our broken spirits,
  ....We have to go to God.
  -- Grace E. Easley

  An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told
  his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the 
  house building business and live a more
  leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended 
  family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed 
  to retire. They could get by. The contractor was 
  sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he
  could build just one more house as a personal
  favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was 
  easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He
  resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior
  materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his 
  career. When the carpenter finished his work and 
  the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor 
  handed the front-door key to the carpenter.
  "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
  What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known
  he was building his own house, he would have done it 
  all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he 
  had built none too well. So it is with us. We build our
  lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting,
  willing to put up less than the best. At important points 
  we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock 
  we look at the situation we have created and find that 
  we are now living in the house we have built. If we had
  realized, we would have done it differently.
  Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. 
  Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a
  wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. 
  Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves  
  to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the 
  wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."
  Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result 
  of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life
  tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices 
  you make today.
  
  ~~author unknown~~