Shipwrecked Minute

This Minute is meant for Scouts BSA.

Don't get discouraged at mishaps and setbacks.

After a shipwreck, the lone survivor washed up onto a small deserted island. He thanked God to be alive and then prayed for rescue.

In the first day he managed to build a hut from palm fronds in which he stored the few possessions he had salvaged from the wreckage. He also made a fairly soft sleeping pad and found fruit and coconuts to eat. He built a small cooking fire pit in front of his hut and continued to pray for rescue.

A couple weeks into his hardship, while he was foraging for food, the wind suddenly picked up and became so strong it knocked a few trees down. When he returned to his hut, the survivor saw that the wind had blown coals on the dry fronds of his hut and burned it to the ground. All of his meager possesssions were destroyed.

In anger and frustration, he cried, "God, how could you do this to me?"

A few hours later, as he was sitting in despair, a ship rounded the island and a rowboat came ashore to rescue him.

The man was ecstatic and asked, "How did you know I was here?"

They replied, "We saw your smoke signal."