Go Push Someone

A Funny Story-

A man and his wife were awakened at 3AM by a loud pounding on the door.  The man got up to see what was up and he saw a drunken stranger standing in the pouring rain, asking for a push.

“Not a chance,” said the husband.  It’s 3 o’clock in the morning.”  With that he slammed the door and returned to bed.

His wife asked, “Who was that?”

“Just some drunken guy asking for a push,” he answered.

“Well did you help him?”

“No I did not.  It is 3 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there.”

“Well, you have a short memory,” she said.  “Can’t you remember about three months ago when we broke down and those two guys helped us?  I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself.  God loves drunken people too.”

The husband recognized the wisdom in his wife’s words, got up, got dressed and went out into the pounding rain.

He called out in the dark, “Hello.  Are you still here?”

“Yes” came the answer.

“Do you still need a push?”

“Yes, please!” came the reply from the darkness.

“Where are you?”

“Over here on the swing set,” replied the drunk.

I laugh at a great story like this – mostly because of the unique twist at the end, and it causes us a moment to pause and reflect.

How many times have I been pushed in my life?  Some have been gentle and others with a more determined effort. 

Teachers certainly have pushed us along the way and we are better for that.

I was pushed into writing in a big way one day after talking about it for thirty years.  That was the best push of my life.

Some are pushed into careers, marriages, and all sorts of other scenarios and often they can be life-transforming. 

So you see, a push is not a bad thing.  It can be a very good thing after all. 

Sometimes a push is nothing more than a gentle word of encouragement. 

P Michael Biggs

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