Restoration 10:10

It’s been reported that a 31-year-old Chinese executive was pulled alive from the rubble of a power plant on Tuesday, eight days after a massive quake struck south-western China and killed an estimated 50,000. Ma Yuanjiang was rescued in Wenchuan County, epicentre of the May 12 quake in mountainous Sichuan province, after 179 hours buried in the rubble. This human interest story inspires hope in the bleakest of situations.

Ma Yuanjiang’s circumstances were not very encouraging. It looked as though he was literally dead and buried. But that’s not how it ended. The earthquake victim was rescued and he lives to tell the story. How are things looking for you right now? Bleak? Unpleasant? Depressing? Maybe! But that doesn’t mean you can’t survive your personal problems. No matter how badly our lives are shaken it’s never too late to receive a helping hand. Neither is it too late to assist others in their hour of need. Go rescue someone and pull them out of the rubble.

 Red devil Carlos Teves scored a late equalizer against Blackburn Rovers at Eward Park on Saturday. The dramatic late goal keeps Manchester UTD on target to lift the Premier League title for the tenth time. Late goals are the most satisfying to score because the opposing team has no time to reply. UTD’s coach sir Alex Ferguson must be well pleased with the last gasp 1-1 draw. In fact ‘Firgy’ is no stranger to late reprieves. Who can forget that incredible foot-balling moment when Manchester UTD won a special treble beating Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Nou Camp stadium in 1999? UTD had trailed in the European Cup Final for most of the game until Teddy Sheringham equalised in the 91st minute. Immediately after the restart UTD forced a corner. Amazingly, striker Ole Gunner Solskjaer hit Teddy Sheringham’s header first-time into the back of the Bayern goal net. Enough to give UTD a memorable 2-1 win.

But did you know that UTD’s legendry football star Gorge Best missed the action? He couldn’t cope with the pain of watching his team loose 1-0 so he left the stadium four minutes early. Spokesman Phil Hughes said that Best was ‘absolutely gutted’. Manchester UTD looked dead and buried. Even to the extent where Bayern Munich’s ribbons had already been secured to the trophy itself in preparation for the presentation ceremony. But there was still time left to save the day. This is not only a lesson in football. It’s good for personal development. You may be losing one or two battles in life. But there’s still time for you to turn things around. A late show of good fortune could change everything.