Shotgun Alarm Clock

The phone rang at 6 AM. The caller said, “I got a problem.” The Pastor, awakened, thought, “You sure do, you’re calling me now.” Aloud he said, “What’s the trouble? Who’s this?” The caller said, “I nearly shot my wife. It’s Billie.” “Is she okay?” the Pastor said. “She’s fine, wicked scared, but fine.”

“What happened?” the Pastor said
.
“She made me angry. Same old stuff; this time I snapped, grabbed my shotgun, and it went off, blew a ceiling hole in the trailer. It was so sudden that I got scared wide-awake, like I’d woken up from a crazy dream. I’m shaking all over.”

Billie and Jamey (that’s Billie’s wife) are decent-hearted folk, despite what happened. The Pastor asked Billie if there had been physical violence between them before. Billie said no. Later on, Jamey said no. The Rev. wasn’t so sure. There’d been drama between them in the months leading up to that early morning fight.

If you’re in danger, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE. You deserve safety.

Jamey woke up. She got help. She left him. Billie got scared sober. Eventually, they turned their lives around. Frustration and alcoholism can fuel rage. Rage leads to violence. If you feel unsafe, call 1-800-799-SAFE.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, don’t let it take a shotgun to wake-up some folks. Let it be a kind word, or a movie, an article, an ad in the paper, that saves a woman or man from domestic violence; send the wake-up call; let it happen soon, God. Amen.

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