"Do You Know Anything About Parachutes?"

A Joke With A Point

A man parachuted out of an airplane, and when he pulled the cord, his chute failed to open.  As he continued falling through the air, he grabbed for his reserve ripcord, but again nothing happened.  He began to fret just a bit as you might imagine, and he said to himself,  "Oh man!  What am I gonna do now?  I'm a goner for sure!"

As he plummeted downward, suddenly he saw a surprising sight down below him.  A man was flying straight up towards him at a speed that was every bit as fast as his own, and it appeared that he would pass nearby.  "Hey, great!" he thought.  "Maybe this guy can help me."  As the man shot by him the parachutist yelled, "HEY!!!  YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PARACHUTES?"  To which the man replied, "NO!  YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GAS STOVES?"

After I read that joke, the thought occurred to me that I am not the only person in the world with a problem.  The people I meet throughout the day, they all have problems too.  Some are worse than mine.  I had a couple of bad days last week.  Wednesday was one of the most discouraging days I've had in a long time.  Sunday started off really badly, although it did get better quickly.  But do you know what?  Compared to some of the other trials that I know some people are going through right now, I have nothing for which to complain.  I challenge you to keep this little joke in mind next time you are tempted to complain or feel sorry for yourself.  Look around.  Somebody else has a problem that is bigger than yours.  Instead of focusing on our own problems, we should lend a helping hand (or a prayer) to another person in need.