At 10:11am this morning I had just entered a pawn shop looking for a home phone...ours went kaput three days ago and money is tight so I thought I'd try there first. I know it was 10:11am because my cell phone rang at that moment. It was a man in the program who had the good sense to call before he relapsed...but he was close, the bottle was open and in front of him. I told him to hang on and bolted out the door, told him I was on my way. I narrowly missed a fellow entering the pawn shop as I ran out the door...called out an apology over my shoulder and jumped in the car and out the driveway.
At 10:14am the man entering the pawn shop fired twice taking everyone in the place hostage. So, if you ever are thinking about picking up and don't want to bother anyone...make the call, you might save someone's life.
WOW, WOW, WOW, ... ... ... THIS is how God works in someone's life ... the next time I think I'm bothered by something that just 'pops up out of thin air', I'll remember this ... Now I know God has other plans ... Great post Angell ... I am going to share this at my next meeting ... WOW, what a miracle!!! ... ... ...
by the way, how did the 12th step call go ???
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Well now that's a sure sign your Higher Power is looking out for you.
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The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. ---William James
The twelfth step call was successful, insomuch as my understanding goes; he did not drink. Thank you for asking after him.
I'm not trying to question my higher powers will, but I must admit to a bit of sadness that my hp was not able to make use of me at the pawn shop. It seems that the fellow is an addict. I recall seeing a father holding his toddler daughter and his young son by his hip. Those children must have been very frightened. Had it been in the plan, I would have been happy to have talked to the gunman and share some hope with him. I know that I could probably write him in custody, but the message would have been more powerful coming from someone on the wrong side of a gun.
Good on you Angell (appropriate name for the situation I do think) and since you can only be in one place as requested you were in the right place. We spoke of God's will and the program at this morning's meeting. We acknowledged that the good that now happens in our life is in fact the consequence of working the program and we are notified in the 12Th Step of both the promise and the consequence. We are called...you were called and for me a true 12th step isn't about martyrdom or the possibility of it. It's about being available whenever anyone reaches out. This time the reaching out instrument was a phone not a gun. The man with the gun wasn't looking to stop using...he was looking for substance to continue most likely. I don't know and I am glad that you are available for the next opportunity which might be the guy without the gun. Mahalo Akua...Thank you God that your Angell is still available. Keep coming back ((((hugs))))
I don't know Angell, ... ... ... We will never know what might have 'gone down' if you had been there ... the guy was unpredictable and had a loaded gun .. thank God nobody got shot, but had you tried to talk to him about his problems, he may have just as easily shot you for the hell of it ... I prefer to see it as God getting you out of harms way ... Bless you for wanting to be of help to this guy, but maybe it just wasn't time for him to listen ...
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Well now that's a sure sign your Higher Power is looking out for you.
Wow, Angell, so awesome..... our Higher Power was speaking to the man in need for his behalf and yours. and writing to the man who held the pawn shop hostage is a very good idea, even telling him why you bumped into him and the reason behind it. a very powerful testimony. thank you for sharing.
The twelfth step call was successful, insomuch as my understanding goes; he did not drink. Thank you for asking after him.
I'm not trying to question my higher powers will, but I must admit to a bit of sadness that my hp was not able to make use of me at the pawn shop. It seems that the fellow is an addict. I recall seeing a father holding his toddler daughter and his young son by his hip. Those children must have been very frightened. Had it been in the plan, I would have been happy to have talked to the gunman and share some hope with him. I know that I could probably write him in custody, but the message would have been more powerful coming from someone on the wrong side of a gun.
Sounds like an ego situation, Angell, somewhat similar to your other thread. You want to go and do the emergency/critical situation/life or drink 12th step call . . . . AND . . . . you want to do the emergency/critical situation/life or death talk down/take down.
Why do you need BOTH? Your 12th step call helped a suffering alcoholic. You carried the message of the AA program in excellent fashion. What a wonderful act of service you performed. We are all grateful you did it.
Great job.
Here's a local reporting of the incident. Quite a fracas it was.
One piece of advice on situations like this Jonathan Johnson incident: LEAVE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. (Which is what the customers and employees wisely did in this case.) Let the po-po handle it. Even if you are armed it is the epitomy of wisdom and prudence to exit the danger zone. Anyone who decides to grab, load, and discharge a weapon in a pawn shop is not to be trusted to be cooperative or receptive to appeals to reason. Frankly , when something like that happens in a pawn shop, somebody WILL die. Get out, while you can.