My Pastor Was A Killer

When I counted, I had four encounters with guns where I was the victim.

I thought about it a lot. Paranoid.

I didn’t go to see a therapist. I went to talk to a pastor instead.

I was at ease talking to him because he was a veteran.

We talked extensively about forgiveness and the power of letting things go.

We discussed both his and my history with violence.

We spoke for a while.

When it was time to leave, he asked:

In my head, I thought, Here we go again.

“Would you shoot someone dead if they threatened your life?”

Without missing a beat, I said, “Yes.”

He nodded, didn’t ask any more questions, and we prayed. Then I left.

We both understood:

I had already made up my mind if I ever found myself in a similar situation.

The next person to point a gun in my face was getting shot.