Shotgun Wake Up

Shotgun Wake Up

The phone rang at 6 AM. The caller said, “I got a problem.” “You sure do,” I thought, “you’re calling me now.” Aloud I said, “Who’s this, and what’s the trouble?” He said, “I tried to shoot my wife. This is Harry.” That woke me up. “Is she okay?” I asked. “She’s fine, scared, but fine.” “What happened?” I asked. “She made me angry. Same old stuff; this time I snapped, grabbed my shotgun, and it went off; blew a hole in the trailer ceiling. It was so sudden that I got scared wide-awake, like I’d woken up from a crazy dream. I’m shaking all over.”

Harry and Jane, that’s his wife, lived in town. They’re decent folk, despite what happened. I didn’t know– and still don’t– if there’d been other physical violence, although I asked. There’d been plenty of drama between them in the months leading up to that morning. That day – Harry got scared, and maybe for the first time in his life, he realized where he was headed, and it was in a bad direction. Things needed to change, and they did change. They started to go to church, and they contacted our local Domestic Violence Shelter, which is always ready to help. If you need help, call the National Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, don’t let it take a shotgun blast to wake-up some folks. Let it be a careful word, or movie, an article in a woman’s journal, an ad in the paper, or something other than violence; whatever the wake-up call is, God, let it happen soon. Amen.

Today’s Thought Is: Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE