The Rope

They tell the story of a mountain climber, desperate to conquer the Aconcagua, initiated his climb after years of preparation. But he wanted the glory to himself; therefore, he went up alone. He started climbing, did that for several hours, He did not prepare for camping but decided to keep on going. Soon it got dark . . . Night fell with heaviness at such high altitude and there was zero visibility. Everything was black, no moon, and the stars covered by clouds. As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, he slipped and fell. Falling rapidly he could only see blotches of darkness that passed in the same darkness and a terrible sensation of being suctioned by gravity. He kept falling and in those anguishing moments’ good and bad memories passed through his mind. He thought he would die. Nevertheless, he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Like any good mountain climber he had staked himself with a long rope tied to his waist. In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air he had no other choice but to shout, "HELP ME GOD", "HELP ME!" All of a sudden he heard a deep voice. "What do you want me to do?” "SAVE ME" "Do you REALLY think that I can save you?" "OF COURSE, MY GOD".

"Then cut the rope that is holding you up." There was another moment of silence and stillness. The man held tighter to the rope. The rescue team says that the next day they found, a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to a rope TWO FEET off the ground . . .

Kindness

... One day a woman was walking down the street when she spied a beggar sitting on the corner. The man was elderly, unshaven, and ragged. As he sat there, pedestrians walked by him giving him dirty looks They clearly wanted nothing to do with him because of who he was -- a dirty, homeless man. But when she saw him, the woman was moved to compassion.

It was very cold that day and the man had his tattered coat -- more like an old suit coat rather than a warm coat -- wrapped around him. She stopped and looked down. "Sir?" she asked. "Are you all right?"

The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like that she had never missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before. "Leave me alone," he growled.

To his amazement, the woman continued standing. She was smiling -- her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows. "Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No," he answered sarcastically. "I've just come from dining with the president. Now go away."

The woman's smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm. "What are you doing, lady?" the man asked angrily. "I said to leave me alone."

Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" he asked.

"No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?"

The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?"

"See that cafeteria over there?" she asked. "I'm going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for a while."

"Are you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. "I don't want to go in there!" Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. "Let me go, officer. I didn't do anything."

"This is a good deal for you, Jack," the officer answered. "Don't blow it."

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived. The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by the table. "What's going on here, officer?" he asked. "What is all this. Is this man in trouble?"

"This lady brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman answered.

"Not in here!" the manager replied angrily. "Having a person like that here is bad for business."

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. "See, lady. I told you so. Now if you'll let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. "Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?"

"Of course I am," the manager answered impatiently. "They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."

"And do you make a good profit from providing food at the weekly meetings?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company."

"Oh."

The woman smiled again. "I thought that might make a difference." She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. "Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officer replied. "I'm on duty."

"Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"

"Yes, ma'am. That would be very nice."

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel. "I'll get your coffee for you right away, officer."

The officer watched him walk away. "You certainly put him in his place," he said.

"That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this." She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently. "Jack, do you remember me?"

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes "I think so -- I mean you do look familiar."

"I'm a little older perhaps," she said. "Maybe I've even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?" the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

"I was just out of college," the woman began. "I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat."

Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he said. "I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy."

"I know," the woman continued. "Then you made me the biggest sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble. Then, when I looked over, I saw you put the price of my food in the cash register. I knew then that everything would be all right."

"So you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered." She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. "When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to Mr. Lyons. He's the personnel director of my company. I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to do around the office." She smiled. "I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet and if you ever need anything, my door is always opened to you."

There were tears in the old man's eyes. "How can I ever thank you," he said.

"Don't thank me," the woman answered. "To God goes the glory. Thank Jesus. He led me to you."

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways. "Thank you for all your help, officer," she said.

"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he answered. "Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget. And... And thank you for the coffee."

She frowned. "I forgot to ask you whether you used cream or sugar. That's black."

The officer looked at the steaming cup of coffee in his hand. "Yes, I do take cream and sugar -- perhaps more sugar than is good for me." He patted his ample stomach.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I don't need it now," he replied smiling. "I've got the feeling that this coffee you bought me is going to taste as sweet as sugar."

I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he has to help the other get to his feet

Did you hear me ?

A teacher teaching Math to seven-year-old Vicky asked him, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?

"Within a few seconds Vicky replied confidently, "Four!"

The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three).

She was disappointed. "Maybe the child did not listen properly," she thought.

She repeated, "Vicky, listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?"

Vicky had seen the disappointment on his teacher's face.

He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make the teacher happy.

His search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make his teacher happy.

This time hesitatingly he replied, "Four…"

The disappointment stayed on the teacher's face. She remembered that Vicky liked strawberries.

She thought maybe he doesn't like apples and that is making him loose focus.

This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one  strawberry and one strawberry, then how many you will have?"

Seeing the teacher happy, young Vicky calculated on his fingers again.

There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed.
With a hesitating smile young Vicky replied, "Three?"

The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself.

But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple
and one more apple how many will you have?"

Promptly Vicky answered, "Four!"

The teacher was aghast. "How Vicky, how?" she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.

In a voice that was low and hesitating young Vicky replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag."

Moral:
When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect, don't think they are wrong.

There may be an angle that you have not understood at all. You will have to listen and understand, but never listen with a predetermined notion.

What's your VALUE?

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked,

"Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, "What if I do this?"

And he dropped it on the ground and soiled it.
He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.

"Now, who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson.

No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way, We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, we will have inherent value and not lose it.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The true worth of our lives comes not merely by what we do or who we know, But by WHO WE ARE.

"You are special - Don't EVER forget it."