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Saturday, October 22, 2011

It Could Have Ended So Much Different...


Yesterday as my husband was on his way to work,
he and a guy bumped into one another as often happens on the crowded streets 
of Chicago during the morning rush.  
This time was different.
This time the guy turned, lifted up his shirt and pointed to a gun.

A gun.  On a busy street, full of hundreds, in broad daylight.

While I have thanked God from my absolute core that nothing happened to him,
that he returned to us safe and sound, things could have gone so much different.

I am not sure why we are reminded of this so often in our lives.

That morning I had a sinking pit in my stomach, a feeling I couldn't shake. 
My oldest lingered in saying good-bye on his way to school.
One of those times you just think, is something about to happen?
I said some prayers for our protection.
Little did I know what had happened moments earlier.

I thank God for protecting him. 
I know he is still in disbelief.
I process things through writing, it's cathartic for me.

Things like this have to change you.
Not make you afraid.  Not make you paranoid or worried.
But if they don't make you stop to realize the sanctity of life,
how fragile it is, and how we can be so deeply impacted by the free will of others,
what was the point?

Anger is there, I would like to shove a picture in the guy's face of
our five perfect children and ask how he would have felt taking their Dad away.
What the ramifications of just threatening that are.

I know he wouldn't care.  If you're crazy enough to flash a gun at someone on a 
crowded street during broad daylight, every ounce of humanity is gone.
It's a shell of a person filled with hatred and evil roaming free.

We understand how worse things could have been.
Yet, it has to pause your life.
It has to remind you that there is no promise for the 
next minute, the next day, the next year.

While I always know this, sometimes the only way to get back to truly comprehending what it means is for something of this magnitude to happen.

Thank you God for protecting my everything.
Today I remember...


{michelle}

9 comments:

  1. oh my word, so glad your husband is unscathed!! what a scary and "real" occurence. things like that that make me sick of what the world has come to sometimes.

    God is great, all the time :)

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  2. How frightening. How is your husband doing? Thank goodness your husband and the rest of the people on that crowded city street are safe.

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  3. Oh my gosh, that is so crazy! I'm constantly telling my kids that you just don't know what is going on in someone elses life to make them behave a certain way. We can only pray for them. What an incredibly scary thing to have happened. I pray that their paths don't cross again.

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  4. Oh my goodness, Michelle!!! How scary! I think it is so neat that you had the pit in your stomach and instead of worrying you bowed your head to pray. I know the Lord must have been smiling upon you yesterday. So glad things turned out okay.

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  5. How incredibly sobering! I can only imagine that you will be seeing the world through the split screen of what is/what might have been for a while. I'm so glad that this isn't a tragic ending sort of story. I hope the next people with the misfortune of having a run-in with that man also walk away, home to their families.

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  6. I'm glad there was a safe ending! Has the guy been caught yet? And did he get away with anything? That is so scary! I'm sure hubby/daddy was glad to get home to all of you!

    Meg

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  7. OMG how scary for you and your family. I'm so sorry that happened but I am glad he is ok and home with you guys.

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  8. Wow, sooo scary!!! So glad your hubs is safe!!!!!!

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  9. oh my gosh! That is terrifying! That makes my stomach flip!!! So glad he is safe!

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I so appreciate your sweet thoughts and thank you for sharing. I always try to reply whether it be to your email or on one of your blog posts! Wishing you a wonder*filled day! Michelle

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