Good Samaritan

Fresh from a week of working on a rowing machine instead of running, I went out for a jog yesterday to test the improvements that a week off surely was going to have brought to me. I was disappointed by the results but at least came away with the belief that further rest was not going to be beneficial and set my sights on getting back on the road today or Wednesday.

I left Salem at about 9:00 a.m. to drive back to Eugene. About 2 blocks into the drive I saw a miniature Border Collie running down the sidewalk, dragging a retractable leash, with a woman pursuing, but not gaining any ground. Having read portions of the Bible when I was a youth, I know how God smiles upon Good Samaritans. I quickly took a right turn instead of the planned left and pursued the dog. I drove 20 meters ahead of it, hopped out of the car and cut it off. The dog stopped and looked around for an escape route. I took advantage of his lack to attention to reach down and grab his leash. He took advantage of my foolhardiness to make my wrist his lunch. When I stopped bleeding later I was able to count 17 puncture wounds. He then took advantage of me being distracted by the searing pain to make a break for it. Not so fast! Using my abnormally high PTI, I ignored my wrist and lunged out to stomp on the dangling leash, and nailed it. However, with all of my weight on my outstretched foot, and either gravel or the leash reducing my coefficient of friction, I went flying through the air and watched from my back as the dog continued on his evil (or scared) way.

Remember how I have suggested in the past that the best solution for a nagging injury that can't be diagnosed and won't be cured by rest, is to keep running until it either gets better or breaks. Well, I no longer have a nagging injury in my left hamstring that won't get better and won't get worse. It is now broken. Not the bone, but the hamstring is toast. The only thing that keeps the pain from being unbearable is that my wrist hurts more.

So, the point of this modern day parable? God works in mysterious ways? No good deed goes unpunished?

We do not earn God's grace, nor do those who suffer deserve their suffering. This incident fits nicely into a discussion of whether the existence of evil, pain, injustice and suffering in the world proves that God does not exist.