My brother invited my husband and me
over the other day to watch a couple of movies. I took a break a few
minutes into the second one and went for a walk down the lane he
shares with my parents, the one I have walked down many times over
the course of my life. It was a brisk spring afternoon and his dog,
Mitsy, decided to join me.
We were almost all the way back to
where the two driveways split apart, down by the last swamp, when all
of a sudden, I heard this blood curdling – sound – that I could
hardly describe, but it stopped me in my tracks and made the hair on
my neck stand up. I turned in the direction of the sound, up on the
hill behind me to see what made that sound, but all I saw was Mitsy
high-tailing it home. Well, there was no way I was sticking around
to see what animal it was. If the dog was afraid, so was I! The
sound came again and again, and I was off and running.
I'm not a big runner, well, not a
runner at all, but I was that afternoon! That was the fastest 500 m
dash I'd ever run, probably in my life. I ran towards my parents'
house instead of my brother's since it was closer. I was pretty sure
if the animal was going to take chase, I would never make it all the
way to my brother's. Even then, I couldn't run the whole way. I had
to slow down to a speed walk to catch my breath. I did manage to
make it to the house in one piece – and I never did see the animal.
At first, I assumed it was a coyote,
since that's the most common wild animal that would theoretically
scream at a dog. But it was so loud and so unlike any coyote howl I
had ever heard, I thought maybe it was a rabid coyote. Later, when I
told my story, my parents suggested a wolf, or bobcat, or cougar, all
of which have been known to frequent the area. Regardless, I was
glad to be close to safety and still alive.
But then I had to make my way back to
my brother's. There was no way I was going back down the road
towards the wild animal. My other option was to head through the
bush, which was shorter, but also more hazardous for running should
the animal come after me there, and also closer to other potential
wild animals. I was pleased the dog came back for me. Maybe it was
not too dangerous anymore.
Long story short, I made it back in one
piece. Caught a cold from inhaling so much cold air with such heavy
breathing. Was kind of one edge every time the dogs barked for the
rest of the evening.
What I learned from my little episode
is that:
1. I'm quite out of shape. My doctor
had suggested that I might want to engage in more vigorous exercise
than walking to remedy constant low-grade fatigue; her suggestion
might be helpful for a variety of things, including escaping danger!
2. Even if I had been in better shape,
my best efforts would have been insufficient for the task of saving
myself if I had indeed been chased by a wolf or cougar.
3. I had little control over the
situation. Sure, I maybe contributed by walking unsuspectingly past
a wild animal who didn't want me there. Sure, my speed, or lack
thereof, could have had an affect on the outcome had there really
been a wild animal after me. But essentially, it wasn't through my
efforts that I happened to come out unscathed, nor would it have been
my fault if I had been attacked.
When bad things happen, or we manage to
avoid bad things happening, we either want to blame something or
someone, or perhaps take credit for side-stepping disaster. I don't
think it's as easy as that. Sometimes bad things happen; sometimes
they don't. Sometimes we are prepared for a crisis; sometimes our
very best efforts are not enough to avert a tragedy. This is the
world we live in: “[God] causes his sun to shine on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”
(Matt. 5:45). Our job as humans is to help each other, to do what we
can to alleviate inevitable pain, to do what we can to lighten each
others' loads.
Therefore, as God's
chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other
and forgive one another
if any of you has a
grievance against someone.
Forgive as the Lord
forgave you.
And over all these
virtues put on love,
which binds them all
together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12 - 14
