A Miraculous Deliverance
It’s a story that still seems surreal to me. Nov. 3, 2006, was a normal day in Austin, Texas. I was waiting at an intersection not far from my beautiful home in a nice neighborhood, with my car windows down, the sunroof open and fall sunlight streaming in.
My beloved Labrador, Valentine, was snoozing in the back, too lazy to bother with panting out the window. Within seconds my life changed.
A man approached the passenger side of my car, stuck a 357 magnum in the window and demanded my car. As I got out of the car, he pulled the trigger. The bullet entered my chest inches from my heart, punctured my right lung, grazed my liver and broke two ribs as it exited my body. Miracle number one: no life-threatening injuries.
Within minutes, help arrived, including four of my best friends who, miracle number two, “coincidentally” happened to be in the neighborhood. Next was the life flight to the hospital for miracle number three: The regional trauma center’s emergency room was empty. I had the place to myself. (Well, it was me and the 50 or so friends praying in the waiting room.)
After eight days in the hospital, several of those in intensive care, I was released to a grateful family and a herd of girlfriends ready to meet my every need until I was back on my feet. The doctors are still shaking their heads, saying it is a miracle that I am alive.
The shooter was caught off the coast of Georgia on a shrimp boat. Have I forgiven him? Of course. I have been forgiven, so I forgive.
The size of the trespass matters not. I want to be fully healed and not suffer emotional and spiritual consequences from bitterness and unforgiveness. I want to model for my children what it means to rise above personal tragedy and grow from it.
I had a hole next to my heart; it's healing. He has a hole in his heart that led him to a life of crime. It is my prayer that through forgiveness and that age-old song of redemption, that hole in his heart is healed someday.
You can read her entire story at www.amycbaker.com.