"No good deed goes unpunished", sort of a pessimistic phrase, but I've got two classic examples from this summer:
1. Our first weekend here we volunteered to clean up the chapel on Saturday morning. Angela and I got there early and volunteered to do yard work outside. We weeded, picked up trash, cleaned up fallen branches, etc... A day or two later I noticed I was getting itchy on my arms, legs, face, and elsewhere, and thought, "hmm, that's funny, this feels like poison ivy..."
I asked a local friend if there was any poison ivy in Lyons, the town where our chapel is located, and he said "oh ya, Lyons is covered with poison ivy, its everywhere."
Needless to say, some poison ivy grew its way onto the church grounds, found its way onto my skin, and then tormented me for the next week and a half.
2. I was at work driving between one place to another on a dirt road and saw a medium sized ponderosa pine branch that had fallen onto the side of the road. I almost passed by, thinking it would just get run over enough times to obliterate it, but then thought better of the idea and stopped to move it. I picked it up with both hands, then realized my mistake. I chucked the thing off the road, then spent five minutes trying to get two handfuls of sap cleaned off before I got it all over myself and the car I was driving.
Anyway, just two funny ones. And I actually do think that doing good deeds is the right thing to do, but there is truth to the saying that no good deed goes unpunished.
What's your funniest good deed punishment story?
Brian
3 comments:
So true, Brian! You'll notice this rule in effect even more once you have children. Here's a typical good deed example that never goes unpunished: I frequently think, "Oh, I'll be a nice mom and shared some of my ice cream with Allyson. It will be a special, tender moment that will create a lasting memory of love between us." So then I lovingly share my treat with my sweet toddler and love every moment of this sweet good deed... until it's over. As soon as the last bite is taken, the punishment begins with shouts of "MORE! I WANT MORE!" Then when I reply, "It's all done, sweetheart. No more." the real punishment begins because the screaming and crying tantrum sets in. Like you said, "No good deed goes unpunished!" Of course, despite this regularly occuring response, I still continue to do these good deeds in the hope that one day I will be rewarded for my efforts :)
Hmm, just one reply comment...
Guess I missed the target on this one. Next post title will be "The rewards of serving". Stay tuned.
Brian
This post made me laugh Brian...this is precisely the reason I am an EVIL DOER! I had enough punishment as a child! HA! HA! HA!
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