The sirens grew louder in the distance, but Ted could scarcely hear them over the breaking of his heart.
Charlie’s male accomplice was never found but his female partner in crime, Samantha Rene Allison, was charged as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. Throughout the entire ordeal, the only tears she had shed were for the death of her lover. Her father would cry for the rest of his life.
During the trial it came out there was only one reason Jacob was still alive. He never heard the gunshots that nearly killed his father, or the attack that took his mother’s life. He had been sleeping deeply when he had a dream. In the dream a voice had told him to get the rifle he’d packed away in a box beneath his bed. The dreaming Jake had shaken his head in denial, and told the voice that he hated that gun, all guns. He turned away but the power of the voice forced him to listen.
Get out of the bed. Get the gun. NOW.
Feeling silly, Jacob climbed out of bed and had just loaded the rifle when Charlie kicked open his bedroom door, with a gun pointed right at him. Jacob yelled at the young man they’d welcomed into their home, shared a meal with, even watched movies with. Gentle Jake had been forced to fire his own weapon as Charlie shot at him, blessedly missing him every time. He obeyed blind faith and allowed the weight of his body to take him through the window next to his bed.
A mortally wounded Charlie had followed him through the window. Whether it was to finish the job, or to escape the fire, no one would ever know.
Jacob destroyed the rifle after the trial and moved with his father into his Aunt Katrina’s home until they could find a new one.
He grew into a serious, studious young man who now tours the country speaking about watching for the subtle signs of impending violence, especially in teenagers. He met a nice girl in college and gave her a ring for Christmas.
“Dad, want to be my best man? You can even bring that pretty lady you’ve been seeing the last few months.”
“Well, I’d be honored, Jake. But are you sure you don’t want someone else to stand beside you as best man?”
“Dad, you’ve always stood beside me and you’re the best man I’ve ever known.”
It’s Not Your Time
Zachary and his wife, Vanessa, had been married for five years when they decided to move from their life-long home in Knoxville to a town in Alabama. Zach enjoyed singing gospel music and had auditioned for an up and coming gospel group, hoping they would take a chance on him to be their lead. He was thrilled the day he received the call and asked his wife how she felt about moving. Vanessa loved and believed in him with all her heart and vowed to do anything for her love to realize his dream.
They did their dreaming on the sidelines. Zach went to the studios at nights and on the weekends, doing whatever it took to finish the group’s new album.
Though they were dedicated workers in their “day jobs,” and they both liked their jobs, there was cause for concern. The young couple had jobs as home health nurses, trained RNs working in homes all over the city. But it seemed most of Vanessa’s clients were in the territory of town well known for gang wars. To offer protection, Zach was there, every night, to pick her up at work.
One night Vanessa had a feeling that came over her and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake it off.
I just know something bad is about to happen. I don’t know what it is, Lord, but please watch over Zach and me.
Just as she whispered those words, Zach pulled his car in front of the house where she was working. She heaved a sigh of relief and began preparations to leave.
Before Zach could get out of his car, he heard bullets ringing out. He ducked down into his seat, trying to quickly glance around, to find the source of the shooting. He heard a sharp ping as a bullet rang off his radiator. That’s when he heard two more bullets hit his driver-side door in rapid succession. He decided to hit the gas and get off that street as fast as possible. He heard a few more shots as he turned the corner, then no more, but he kept on rolling.
However, he wasn’t able to drive very far because steam was pouring out of his radiator. He had to pull over. When he got out of the car, he saw the tires on the driver’s side were both flat and there large-bore holes in the rocker panel. As steam covered him like fog, he remembered.
Oh, my God—Vanessa! I hope you stayed inside that house, baby.
Their routine had always been that the minute Zach pulled in front of the facility, Vanessa would walk out and get in the car. That way neither one was out in the open, in that part of town, for a long length of time. But Vanessa was not only a smart woman, she’d been having that sick sense of something bad all day. So she had not immediately stepped outside this time when her husband pulled up. Even though she thought she was only hearing fire crackers being shot off, she felt that God was holding her inside. Vanessa was a true child of God and made it a point to never argue with Him.
She watched Zach pull his car away from the front very quickly so she stood there, inside, waiting … and praying. A few minutes later she heard a rapid knock on the front door and she opened it when she saw her husband. Even though she was yet to know what had happened, she threw her arms around his neck.
“Zach, are you alright? All day I’ve have such a bad feeling …”
“No, baby, I’m not. Somebody just shot at me. They messed up the car and scared me half to death. I need to call the police.”
His hand was shaking a bit when he picked up the phone and dialed 911.
“… Yes sir, this is a bad area and I’m sure there is gang activity here but this is where my wife is working … What? Oh, dear Lord. Yes, yes, I hear you. Okay, I will. Please hurry.”
Vanessa’s lovely face was creased with deep lines, her eyes round and filling with tears in anticipation of bad news. “What is it, Zach?”
“The officer said that young kids around here want to join the gangs. Their lives are hard, they’re hungry, their parents are meth addicts or hookers … in other words, they want to belong to something, to someone. They think even being part of a gang is better than nothing.”
Tears spilled over Vanessa’s cheeks, tracking mascara in its wake. “Oh, honey, that’s so sad. I can’t imagine a life so terrible I’d trade it for being part of a gang. That’s one thing our kids won’t consider. Yeah, that’s terribly, terribly sad.”
“Well, babe, it’s not sad enough to die for. Their initiation rite is to shoot innocent people to prove their devotion. I was nearly one of them, just now.”
She rushed to his side, putting her arms around him and held him in a tight embrace. “Oh, honey, what should we do now?”
“The cops just told me to go stand by my Jeep and they’ll send a car over.”
“Zach? That can’t be a good idea, honey. I mean, you’ve been shot at already and they told you to go back to your car?”
“Hey, there they are now, ’Nessa. Stay here. I’ll go talk to them and come back as soon as I can.”
Zach met the officers by his jeep. As they talked, the officers looked over the numerous holes in the car body.
“Man, I can’t believe somebody shot at me! Look at my Jeep! Aw, man, this jeep is my baby!”
“Stay here, Mr. Hill. The tow truck should be here soon. We’re going to go shake a few doors, try to rustle up a few gang bangers.”
Nervously, Zach paced back and forth next to his vehicle. It didn’t take long for his patience to wear thin so he walked a few more feet down the sidewalk to look for the tow truck.
That was when everything began to spiral into chaos. Zach heard bullets ring out behind him. He turned to run because the bullets were coming past him.
The first bullet hit his left thigh area and went straight through. He tried to run as fast as he could but was again shot through the left thigh. As he was crumpling to the ground, a fourth shot went completely through his leg. Lying on the ground, he was astounded when another bullet hit the ground then ricocheted up in that very same thigh.
; He lay there, filled with shock.
I cannot believe I just got shot-five times!
He was shot five times but with the exit wounds, he had ten bullet holes in one leg. One had nicked his femoral artery, a grievous wound that could cause him to bleed to death within minutes.
Unable to stop himself, knowing it could mean the end of him, Zach turned toward the direction of the gunshots. There, partially hidden by a large tree, stood a mere boy, appearing to be no older than ten years old.
No, that’s just not possible. I couldn’t have just been shot by a kid! Why, he’s no older than my youngest brother. I must be losing my mind.
“Hey you, kid! Yeah, you! I see you trying to hide behind that tree. What’s wrong with you?”
The child didn’t answer, just stood there with his arm extended, gun in his hand and finger on the trigger.
Zach struggled to stand, at last gaining his feet by pulling himself up by holding onto a lamppost. He knew he had to find help, quickly
With his mouth drawn in a tight line, he began limp straight toward the boy and his gun. The child didn’t blink.
“In the name of Jesus you are not going to shoot me again. The power of God forbids it. I trust in my Savior, young man. Who do you trust in? You trust those older boys, who you admire so much, are going to save you? If you were shot, if you were dying, do you believe any of them would be with you?”
The hand holding the gun began to waver, shake as if palsied, and the young boy started to lower his arm.
Though his voice was rapidly growing weaker, and the tone was far from being record-quality, Zach felt led to sing one of his favorite gospel songs.
j Oh oh Lord, I want you to help me. Oooh Lord, I want you to help me. Help me on my journey, help me on my way. Ooooh Lord, I want you to help me. j
Zach was within ten feet of the boy when he saw the tears sliding down the child’s face. The arm slowly fell to his side, the gun clattering to the ground. The boy took a step toward the man he’d shot, then stopped, doubt and fear showing.
“Son, please help me.”
Zach fell to the ground and heard the sounds of the boy running away. With each beat of his heart, he felt more and more blood pump from his body. He grew colder than he’d ever felt before in his life. He knew, no matter if the boy chose to help him, it would be too late.
When I woke up this morning, God, I didn’t think this would be the day I’d die, but I’m ready. Please watch over my Vanessa, Lord. Hold her in your loving arms and keep her safe. And God, please don’t let my death be in vain. Enter that little boy’s heart, imprint the image of my death there, and help guide him to a better life.
Zach slipped into darkness, never hearing the emergency crews arriving to help him.
Even unconscious, Zach slowly became aware of a lightening in his body, as if all the weight of his physical being was being taken away. He had a sensation of floating, of being surrounded by white, billowy clouds, and the loss of every concern he’d ever had in his life.
He felt his own lips lift in a wide smile at the feeling of peace and joy that filled him. If it had been a physical sensation, he would have said he felt better than he could remember in a long time.
Zach never heard Vanessa’s scream, or the way she sobbed his name, begging him to stay with her. He never felt the needles the paramedics inserted into his veins. He never felt the ambu mask pressed tightly to his face or the forceful blows to his sternum as they did chest compressions. He never heard them tell his wife that he had less than a five percent chance of surviving.
As Vanessa cried, she prayed, as Zach was nearing the doorway to Paradise.
He felt a love that few living mortals have ever known. In fact, unless they’ve been next to the throne of God, they’ve never felt what was in Zach’s heart at that moment.
* * *
When the paramedics relinquished possession of Zach, the doctor discovered Zach had lost over fifty percent of his body’s blood.
“Call the blood bank and tell them we need all the O negative they have available. STAT!”
Zach heard none of that. What he heard, instead, were people talking, children laughing, and singing. He saw colors he’d never seen before, glowing iridescently throughout the clouds. It felt as if his chest would explode with joy.
Oh yes! This is where I’m meant to be. This is home and it’s so good, Lord, to finally be home.
He felt as if he had stepped forward but then he ran into some type of invisible barrier. No matter how hard he pushed, the barrier remained intact, unyielding, unbreakable. Suddenly he heard a voice. The words he heard were impossible to accept.
“No, Zach. It’s not yet your time. This is not the day you come home. You must go back.”
Zach became angry and shouted, “No! I don’t want to go back to a life of pain and misery. A place where young children will pick up a gun and kill you! It hurts there! It’s torture on earth. I died. I gave up that life. This is where I want to stay. Please don’t make me go back!”
Once more, he heard the words, “No, Zach. It’s not your time. I love you and I’ll be here when you come back; when it is your time.”
Zach cried and pleaded, “Please, no. Don’t make me go back to that cruel world! Please let me stay.” But Zach felt himself slipping backward. The further and deeper he went, the heavier his body felt. As the surgeons shocked him for the fifth time, Zach’s spirit was reunited with his pain-filled body.
He opened his eyes. The doctor holding the paddles gasped, then smiled and said, “Welcome back, Zach. You sure made us work for that one!”
Because there was a tube in Zach’s throat to maintain an airway connecting him to a ventilator, he couldn’t speak, but he felt utter devastation.
Vanessa was there the day they removed the tube. She hugged him after he was extubated. Her face was wreathed in smiles and her entire demeanor illustrated how happy she was to have her husband back.
For the next week Zach spoke only when spoken to. His only activity was to stare at the ceiling with a deep frown on his face. Then Vanessa came bearing gifts and a tongue-lashing.
“What is wrong with you, Zach? You survived, yet you seem sorry that you did. You’re not living. You’re only existing, as if you’re simply waiting for death, like you’re sorry you lived. You were more alive when the machines were keeping your body functioning. Well, that’s enough!”
She threw a gift box onto his bed, then followed it with a large floral-decorated satchel of some sort.
Zach picked up the brightly colored bag and glared at his wife. “What’s this ugly purse-thing? It looks like a …” His eyes grew large and he stared at Vanessa with growing understanding.
“It’s the reason you’re still alive, Zach, that’s what it is! That ‘ugly-purse thing’ is representing new purpose for your life. Go ahead, open the other one.” Tears were streaming down her lovely face.
Zach tore open the gift box to find a small package of diapers and a receiving blanket. He raised his brimming eyes to look at his wife and held out his arms.
Vanessa rushed to his side. “Yes, that’s right. Your new purpose in life is being a father to this baby. You’re going to teach him, or her, how to grow into a kind, loving, determined adult, just like Daddy. You’re going to not only take this baby to church, but you’ll be able to relate just what waits for us on the other side. You’re going to help guide the newest arrival from Heaven into a life of love that only you and I can give. That, Zach, is now your purpose.”
“It’s going to take me a lifetime to be able to explain just how beautiful this life, and the next one, is going to be. Got any names picked out yet?”
More from Gloria Teague
• Beyond the Surgeon’s Touch: One Miracle Away from Death
• Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge
Available online from your favorite bookstore.
Table of Contents
Almost a Heavenly Day
Suspended Animation
Mirror Images
Superhero
Pin-up Model
Avalanche!
The War at Home
Big Things Come in Small Packages
The Good Samaritan
It’s a Long Way Down
The Pain of Betrayal
It’s Not Your Time
Table of Contents
Almost a Heavenly Day
Suspended Animation
Mirror Images
Superhero
Pin-up Model
Avalanche!
The War at Home
Big Things Come in Small Packages
The Good Samaritan
It’s a Long Way Down
The Pain of Betrayal
It’s Not Your Time
Safe in the Heart of a Miracle: More True Stories of Medical Miracles Page 14