An Iron Bar Stopped the Bullet: God’s Hand in Disguise

She could feel that there was something in the air but she couldn’t put a finger on it. It was an awkward feeling; something that she felt was going to happen, but what? She didn’t talk to anyone about it; she just went on with her routine for that day.

It was the first day of classes at a new school, well, not exactly a new school; just the groups she would be teaching were new and since most of the staff had been changed; it would feel somewhat like a new school. Besides that, this would be the busiest day on her schedule; a ten-hour day.

The feeling that she had woken up with accompanied her throughout the morning and afternoon. At the end of the work day, a few of the teachers usually hung out a bar nearby while they waited for the traffic to die down before their long journey to their homes. The school was on the other side of town and leaving there at seven, for sure would only allow her to get home by nine, so she decided to go to the bar for a happy hour with those colleagues.

Lucky for her she didn’t drink. She just had a coke and ate a sandwich and tried to engage in the conversation, mostly about the students. They laughed and complained and ate. The clock struck eight thirty; she said her goodbyes and headed home.

She still had that weird feeling with her. She hadn’t been able to shake it off. While this thought ran through her mind she didn’t notice that she had taken the wrong highway. Not that it wouldn’t get her to her home it was just a highway that she wasn’t used to taking. However, she didn’t let it upset her and she just thought that if God wanted her to change her way home that night, so be it. She was somewhat of a religious person. She prayed and believed in God but she wasn’t practicing any religion although she was a baptized Catholic.

Her car radio wasn’t working at the time so all she had were her thoughts, which were quite a few, but at the same time she was very calm. She managed to recall her day and reach her neighborhood in no time. As she was going down her street the light turned red and she had a gut feeling that she shouldn’t stop too close to the light, to stop right where she was, but she did not pay attention to that; she went on and stopped near the crosswalk. She did live in a very dangerous city and there were always news reports about people being held up at traffic lights and other kinds of crimes. She was always attentive to these things and always aware of what was going on around her. But at that moment she was overcome by a different feeling which she could not describe.

While she was sitting in her car waiting for the light to turn green, she noticed a man leave the sidewalk, walk towards her; coming in her direction from the left. No big deal, except that when she looked at his hand she noticed that he was holding a gun. The strange thing was that she didn’t panic, she didn’t move; she just sat there. All of a sudden she heard a gunshot. Her car shook hard and she knew that she had been hit. Calmly she checked for a bullet wound. She checked her arms, her legs, her upper body and nothing; there was no bleeding.

The light turned green, she took off, crossed the street and parked her car in the garage of her building, which was on the opposite corner from where she had been hit. Slowly she got out of her car and checked it. There it was; the bullet hole. Still she was amazed how calm she felt. She had never been in this state before. It was a very peaceful feeling. The strange feeling that had accompanied her throughout the day had been substituted by this state of glory.

She had been spared. It was the Hand of God. Clearly her car had been hit.

She went up to the reception area of the building and the superintendent had witnessed all the commotion that was going on outside across from the building. He looked at her and immediately asked her whether she was alright. She told him what had happened and he suggested that she go and tell her story to the police, nonetheless, she had been a victim of the shooting. She asked him to accompany her and she did just went back to the scene of the crime to talk to the police officers.

By then 7 police cars had already arrived at the scene of the crime. She found out that two men tried to hold up the valet who was parking some cars at the Japanese restaurant at the corner where her car had been shot. The valet didn’t want to hand over the car keys to the thieves. The street security guard saw what was happening and tried to run over to help. (That was the guy she saw crossing the street with the gun in his hand.) When the thieves noticed the security guard, they started to shoot and that was the shot that hit her car.

The police officers were very kind and listened to what she had to say. They asked where the car was and she took them to her building. She needed to go down to the station to file a report and have the car checked.

She was told that the iron security bar inside the passenger door had stopped the bullet from going through and hitting her in the right knee and perhaps crippling her. If it had been a few inches above, it would have hit her in the hip; maybe stopping her from walking. A few more inches higher it would have gotten her in the upper part of her body; perhaps destroying her internal organs. A bit higher it would have gotten her in the head, which could have cost her life. The police officer told her that she had been very lucky for nothing happened to her.

She broke down and cried; for she had no doubt that the Hand of God had stopped that bullet. She had been given a new life. The person she was before that bullet did not exist any longer. She had been given a new chance to live each moment to the fullest and that is just what she planned to do. She felt very grateful and loved.

Photo taken by Meire Marion

Photo taken by Meire Marion

Photo taken by Meire Marion

(Written January 31, 2013- This story happened to a dear friend of mine on the night of January 29, 2013 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I am grateful for her life and feel honored that she has allowed me to tell it. The pictures posted were taken by me with her permission)
copyright ©2013 - Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.