A man who knows the true meaning of good.....
God has a way of allowing us to be in the right
place at the right time. I was walking down a dimly
lit street late one evening when I heard muffled
screams coming from behind a clump of bushes.
Alarmed, I slowed down to listen and panicked
when I realized that what I was hearing were the
unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting,
frantic scuffling and tearing of fabric. Only
yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked.
Should I get involved? I was frightened for my
own safety and cursed myself for having suddenly
decided to take a new route home that night.
What if I became another statistic? Shouldn't I just run
to the nearest phone and call the police? Although
it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had
taken only seconds, but already the cries were
growing weaker. I knew I had to act fast. How could
I walk away from this?
No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back
on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking
my own life.
I am not a brave man, nor am I athletic. I don't know where
I found the moral courage and physical strength---but once I
had finally resolved to help the girl, I became strangely transformed.
I ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman.
Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few
minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.
Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was
crouched behind a tree, sobbing. In the darkness, I could
barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock.
Not wanting to frighten her further, I at first spoke to her from a
distance.
"It's OK," I said soothingly. "The man ran away. You're safe now."
There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered in wonder,
in amazement. "Dad, is that you?"
And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest daughter, Katherine.
Do all the good you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all times you can,
To all the people you can,
As Long as you ever can.
--author unknown |
