As a young boy, I had a fiery temper that often caused me to say and do unkind things.

One day, after an argument had sent one of my playmates home in tears, my father told me that for each thoughtless, mean thing I did, he would drive a nail into the gatepost in front of our house. Each time I did a kindness or a good deed, he would pull one nail out.

Months passed. Each time I entered our gate, I was reminded of the reasons for those ever-increasing nails. Finally, getting them out became a challenge.

At last the wished-for day arrived-only one more nail! As my father withdrew it, I danced around proudly exclaiming, "See, Daddy, the nails are all gone!"

My father gazed intently at the post as he thoughtfully replied, "Yes, the nails are gone-but the scars remain."

--Author unknown

* * *

Young Mrs. Benson had been so miserable! Her husband was away, sent by his firm for a "refresher course," and for the first time in her married life Mrs. Benson had been left on her own. My wife popped in to try to cheer her up, but to her surprise, Mrs. Benson met her with a smile on her face.

"I've had another visitor," she explained. "She made me feel so ashamed-but I'm so glad."

My wife couldn't quite understand what Mrs. Benson meant.

"It was the woman from around the corner," she explained. "Her husband was killed recently in a car accident and she's been left with three small daughters. To think that in her trouble she could remember to look in to see how I was! Suddenly she made me feel like the most blessed woman in the world."

Mrs. Benson was silent for a moment. Then she added quietly, "I think I've learned something. Perhaps the only way to cure your own unhappiness is by trying to help someone else in theirs."