I was walking
down a dimly lit street 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 berated 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 only taken seconds, but
already the girl’s 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 any further. I at first
spoke to her from a distance “it’s okay, the man ran away, you’re safe now” I
said soothingly. 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.
It’s dreadful to think what the man would have done if he hadn’t
acted. He chose to act, his efforts
guided by values and directed towards what is right than what would have been
convenient. He got the reward of a
lifetime.
If we go
through the pain of discipline,
We can
save ourselves from the pain of regret.