GUNS

I’ve never been much for guns. After Vietnam, they seemed such a waste. I guess they have their place in war, or perhaps in shooting animals that you want to consume, but if I owned my own personal weapon, I’d probably wind up accidentally shooting myself. The following story is by another, related to me by the written word. I’ve left out the minor details to preserve this person’s privacy.

“We lived in a big U.S. city and like any large town there were communities that you just stayed away from, especially at night. One particular evening a female friend of my wife, asked for a ride home. She lived in one of these ‘bad neighborhoods’ and my wife and I decided we would help her out. By the time we got to her home it was very dark, so I left my SUV locked and running, with my wife in the passenger seat and walked our friend to the front door of her home and made sure she got in safely. I had parked under a street light and was heading back toward it when I saw two young men, talking loudly and walking past on the sidewalk.

I remained in the shadows till they had gone by and then headed for our vehicle. Somehow, they managed to see me and came back to where I was. One of them, with rancid breath and bloodshot eyes spun me around, stuck a gun in my side and said, ‘Give me your wallet!’ I could see under the glow of that streetlight, that he was young and visibly shaking. I was taller and bigger than he was and the guy with him looked scared and nervous.

Perhaps it was just because of this or perhaps it was because it had been a long, frustrating day, but I answered him with a firm, ‘No!’ Was I really ready to take a chance on dying or being seriously injured for this? Maybe, the gun wasn’t even loaded, I thought. He repeated himself, trying to sound braver this time but failing to convince me. He stared at me for awhile and then told me to unlock the car door. My wife was inside, viewing this whole episode and I thought, if she unlocks the door from inside, we are in trouble.

He screamed at me this time to unlock the door, shoved to gun farther into my ribs for emphasis and used profanity to make sure I understood his message. I again refused and then had the strangest feeling. I was prompted in my mind to not try to get the gun from him. If I did; I saw myself overpowering him and getting control of the gun and then saw the gun firing and killing him. Just as this was happening, a city bus pulled up to a stop, very near to where we were standing. The bus driver and passengers all stared at us and the two youths fled. I got into our SUV and we quickly headed for home, shaken but secure.

I have often wondered how my life would have been affected had I overpowered that youth and the gun discharged into his body. I am grateful for what I believe was a Godly insight, for surely my life would have taken a totally different direction, had I not been warned to make no offensive move.”