A Few Bruises

I did my usual jog this morning around my estate. It was a jog like any other day, cool morning, bright sunny day with the occasional cool breeze blowing at my face. I like to run many rounds around my estate for the distance of one round is simply not long enough for a good workout. There will be other people running too, either training up or just taking a leisurely jog. I didn't realise it at first, but these people like to run in one particular direction around the estate, which is anti-clockwise. I on the other hand had started off running in the clockwise direction. Since I had started off running in this direction, I didn't want to bother changing my direction because I had gotten used to it. Passing by fellow joggers running in the opposite direction gives me a sense of friendship although I don't know any of them.

I try to aim high while running. It gives me a spur to carry on. I had started off with running 2 rounds every session. At first, it was tiring, really exhausting to just keep that constant pace. Slowly but surely, I try to increase the number of rounds I run every week.

At the end of my run, I would do a short warm down at a playground nearby. Not that I like the playground or what, but no one is using it and the benches there provide good support for my warm down exercises.

Today was slightly different.

While walking to the playground, a young Muslim lady (with a tudung) approached me, "Can you help me get my stick?" I was kinda bewildered at first.. What stick? The first thing that came to my mind was that she was probably training for some martial arts thingy and probably threw her stick somewhere accidentally and cannot retrieve it, thus coming to any passerby for help. I happen to be that passerby. I went, "Sure." Actually, I wasn't sure. But out of curiousity sake, I went to investigate what kind of stick she was refering to and to see if I can help in anyway. She led me to a sheltered walkway nearby where her mother was already waiting there with a ladder. She then explained the situation, "My stick is up there." And she pointed to the roof of the sheltered walkway. My initial guess was that her "stick" landed there for some reason or another and that she and her mother had tried using the ladder to retrive it but to no avail because they were quite short. Well I'm not very tall myself but definitely taller than them so I told myself, oh well no harm trying to help them.

I ascended the ladder rung by rung with mother and daughter holding the ladder steady for me. It wasn't a very long ladder to begin with and my head could just peer over the roof of the sheltered walkway. I then tried looking for the "stick" she claimed was there. To my realisation, it wasn't just an ordinary stick, but a bamboo stick. I then realised that they probably had tried to hang out the clothes but dropped their bamboo stick while doing so. I looked down and asked them in my most Malay accent, "Ahh.. bamboo stick for clothes ah?" The young lady and her mother both exclaimed, "yar yar!"

My heart genuinely wanted to help them, but the bamboo stick could only be retrieved if I climbed onto the roof. However the sheltered walkway was simply too high for me to climb with one easy step even with the ladder. So I used what I learnt in army while clearing obstacles in SOC. Never knew this would come in handy though. Using the low wall technique, I jumped and placed my elbow on the roof, and swung one leg up. Very soon, I was walking on the roof. Easily done. I took the bamboo stick and passed it to them. That was the easy part.

The hard part was coming down (which I never thought of when climbing up). The roof was at least 3.5m tall and jumping down would risk me breaking a bone or two. The young lady and her mother offered me to jump onto the ladder which I had just climbed up but it was also too dangerous for me to do so as the ladder is not a very stable one. Just when I was considering to jump down (despite the fact I might be in a cast for the next 6 weeks or so), I saw this elderly couple staring at me through their kitchen window. An idea popped into my mind as I figured how to get to ground level. I explained my predicament and asked the elderly couple if I could climb in through their window in my B grade Chinese. The old man agreed without much hesitation.

He opened up his window and provided me a chair to climb into his house. Felt like a thief when I did that.. haha.. Bear in mind that I had just ran and was dripping with perspiration and this old man just allowed me to go into his house THROUGH HIS KITCHEN WINDOW. I must look really innocent at that time. Never did I ever think I would do this in my entire life.

When I reached the lobby, the Malay lady and her mother thanked me profusely and subsequently found out they lived on the 15th floor where they accidentally dropped their bamboo stick. Fortunately no one was hurt during the incident as the bamboo stick fell on a place no one would ever set foot on.

Felt like I did something really good today. It wasn't a great deed, nor did it have rippling effects through the nation. Just something to help someone on one of those days in my life. I sustained a few bruises due to my lack of skill while climbing the roof. But hey, what's a few bruises compared to the excitement I just faced and the fact I did a kind favour for someone who needed my help?

Jesus Christ did not sustain a few bruises or a scratch. He laid down his life for the redemption of our sins and so that we may receive eternal life. John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." Such is the nobleness of His act.