CLOSE SHAVE
(A Testimony)
By
Sis.
Maisie Gore
t was a lovely day, one of
the best since Meg became ill and stopped working. Her caregiver, Sheila, cooked up a storm in
the kitchen in preparation for the weekend, and now she was nearly ready to
start her journey home. She stood at the
bedroom door waiting to be paid by Meg, who was slowly getting out of bed. Meg moved towards the dresser, took her
handbag out of the drawer and rested it on the bed. As she leaned over the bag there was a loud
explosion. A small object broke through
the window, flew over Meg’s head, ricocheted off the wall behind Sheila,
slightly grazing her neck as it fell to the floor.
In retrospect, the incident
appeared to have occurred in slow motion. Both women let out muffled screams
and tried to leave the room. They did not succeed in moving any great distance
away before they started animated conversation.
Needless to say, there were more questions than answers.
Sheila recovered the object
from the floor and they realized that it was a spent bullet. They were gripped with deep fear and it took
several minutes before they recovered sufficiently to call the Police.
While awaiting the arrival of
the Police, they related the incident to some other occupants of the apartment
complex who also heard the explosion.
They then discovered that the shots came from the direction of a depressed
neighbourhood nearby. When the Police
eventually arrived at nightfall, the officer in charge, a female, was well
informed and well spoken. She asked all
the right questions and gave some assurance to Meg and Sheila.
The officer was unable to
keep her promise to update the householder about her progress in the case Meg,
due to an unrelated reason, removed from the apartment shortly after the
incident.
The story does not end here.
As both the householder and her caregiver realized how close they both came to
death or to serious injury, they both believed that the incident illustrated
the goodness of God’s love and protection. They now tell this story as a
testimony of thanksgiving to God for protecting them from their ‘close shave’
with death.