I had just returned to my vehicle after shopping at a local store. It was a hot summer day, and I decided to take advantage of my shady parking spot for a little break and a snack. In those few moments I was to participate in an intense scene that required prayerful attention.
A man wearing battle-fatigues and carrying a large automatic rifle, loosely draped in a camouflage cloth, got out of a nearby SUV. He stormed toward the store with a determined, angry look on his face, aggressively dragging a little girl with him.
If I’d had a cell phone, my first reaction would’ve been to call the police. So I did the only thing I could do; I prayed. I asked God how I should think about this situation and got an immediate answer: See everyone in the store, including the man with the weapon, as part of God’s creation, included in His care. The first chapter of Genesis states that everything God made is “very good” (verse 31), so everyone involved in this situation was therefore good. I focused on trying to see the situation as God saw it.
In a few minutes the man exited the store, still carrying the weapon. The little girl was in the charge of a woman who obviously knew the man—I guessed that she was the child’s mother. She was wearing the uniform of an assistant at that store. I watched as she forcefully commanded the situation, ordering the man to return the weapon to the vehicle. He followed her orders and left, and she re-entered the store with the child. All was calm again.
I thanked God for the removal of danger and intimidation, and for the peace and harmony that resulted. I don’t know whether the man intended to shoot the weapon; he was already breaking the law by carrying it in public in this manner. I was also grateful for God’s inspiration, which must have helped defuse a tense event. It was now a non-event; the man had simply exited the scene. There was no evidence of danger, and I feel certain that we were all blessed by the non-violent resolution.
