One ordinary morning

One ordinary morning by Thomas Ingelbratt

I always take o morning promenadwalk with my wife but this special day i walked alone. When I passet about the half of it I saw a man In the ditch badly chewed and beaten. I thought if I had time I would help him because I knew in myself that I was a person who wanted to help others and had great empathy aswell. I was suddenly standing in the hall after the walk and heard my wife shout, -you now that I'm not coming with you today, right? I replied that I knew about that, I had not forgotting it. I was unsure of what had happened before. Maybe the walk was too short, I thought and headed out again. True to habit it was the same round. When I got halfway through the walk I looked into the ditch to see if this person was still there and to my grait surprise no glimpse of him was seen. I checked the place carefully in the ditch and saw blod and other things that spoke valumes, holy shit, I thought, how has this man managed to stand up or did he get help from someone better than me more care and so on. Apperently there had been someone here with more time and commitment than me. I started walking home in the same direction as before I stopped at the ditch. To my horror, this man was now 200 meters furthur away than before and I greatly wondered how it turned out. All he uttered was wailing and misery after the injuries he probably recieved from robbers. I wonder why he moved 200 m in this direction, I thought. Yes, but then he's probably no worse off there than he'll survive in any case, I thought and continued home. When I walked through the door, my wife said, - good that you changed because you get to do the walk yourself today. As compensation, you have a breakfast waiting for you with freshly baked bread. Look, go now.

I didn't know it until I was suddenly standing outside the door. There was no other option but to start the walk. During the whole walk I thought of him lying wounded and injured by the side of the road and if the walk had had the time I now had at my disposal I could have helped this poor fellow, I thought. When I arrived at the scene, the man was gone again, now I mean completely gone. I couldn't find him no matter how much I looked back and forth on the walk. Surprised, I went home and the sight that met me I will never forget as long as I live. My wife happily said that she helped this man who was sitting in the kitchen and she continued, -I was out looking for you and met this man who is apparently in need of help. Since I didn't see a glimpse of you, I carried him over my shoulder like you taught me to do on occasions like this. She had taken him over her shoulder and carried him home. Now he was sitting in the kitchen chair a little clearer in his head than before, - well, I said. Then she said, -yo u can take the day off from work today as we have more importan things for us. We what?, I thought, today as Miss Marienne was to give a lecture on the importance of caring for others. Ok I said. My wife bandaged this man and helped him to bed. I'm going out for a while, I said. You've been out, my wife said. Yes, but I forgot one thing, I said. When I got to the place where the sick person had been lying, I bent my knees and asked Jesus for mercy for the hardness of my heart and the excuses I had come up with. I felt the touch of God's Spirit and became refreshed, alert and happy. I came home. slammed the door open and asked how the man who had ambushed robbers was doing. - what are you talking about, said my wife. I said, the one you helped when you were out looking for me. The one you plastered over and who is now lying in the guest bed. You're funny, my wife said. No one has either come or gone since you were on your walk. Oh, how strange. A morning hallucination without any drugs, I thought to myself. It will be healthier. I had ordered a taxi to work as there was now obviously no sick person to attend to. Goodbye, I said, -I'm leaving now. See you after work, my wife called from upstairs. I got into the taxi and gave the address I was going to. After a while I thought he wasn't driving the fastest way and before I could ask him he suddenly stopped the car. Why are we standing here, I asked. -you see a person by the side of the road, right? Yes, I said, I do. - she is dead, said the man. But it's terrible, I said. After a short while he was heading towards the taxi again. Should she just lie there, I asked. That's what you would have done, right, the taxi guy said. Now the taxi drove off again only to stop again after only 4 km. He went out and showed me a little girl of no less than 13 who had been so raped that she needed immediate medical attention. -Would you have given her this help, he asked. I searched my heart for answers that could calm my conscience but found none. I answered, -no I wouldn't, I said honestly. When we finally got to my work, I didn't see a light on in any of the offices that used to be staffed. Today is a public holiday, said the taxi guy. -You have had all the time in the world to make a difference but only thought about yourself and the false interests you have. - Drive back home again, I have to ask my wife what the hell is going on here, I said. When we got back home, I heard my wife from upstairs saying that I couldn't count on her today for the walk. -What, you haven't gotten up yet, I said. I just woke up and sat up, how so, she asked. I looked back to see the taxi guy's expression but there really wasn't a car there and I wondered if I had all the horses in the stable that day. -You will receive freshly baked bread when you return. I went again for the walk, which was starting to get a little annoying. When half had passed I saw this man bloodied, beaten down, and thrown into the ditch. Now there were others helping him and I felt the anger inside me and how much I wanted to be a part of those who spontaneously helped this wounded man. They lifted him up and before they left with him he said, -wait, I want to say something to him who is standing there and pointed at me. They carried him to me and he said softly to me, he said in my ear, - I love you regardless of your actions or flaws. I was wounded and beaten, hung on a tree for your sake. You only need to accept my unconditional love, because if you do, it will transform you and set you free from the cares and moral obligations of this world. Do you want it?, he asked. -Yes, I want that. He said, receive my Spirit. I became aware of a person who now shared the space with me in the same body but this one was much softer and had a wisdom I needed. - You are my Lord, I said to him. - I am your helper, Han said back, I am Spirit and Truth and if you listen to me you will never fall. From that day I resigned from my fucking office job and became a servant of the highest and I do not regret that adventure