Posted on 09/27/2021 12:38:15 PM PDT by Mrs. Warrior
The One-Time Save.
In high school I met a girl who became my friend; we were on the track team and enjoyed competing for an imaginary finish line. One fall day she invited me for a sleep over and I was so excited to be able to experience my first-ever girls time. I lived in a very strict harsh religious family and was restricted from most normal things in life.
My friend lived along the Delaware river near the base of the dam of the Cannonsville reservoir which supplies water to New York city. I was fascinated by the stories of the farming communities what were once there and the cemeteries where the remains of a community now lay under water.
When I got to her house she showed me the candy we were going to have and how her mom ordered a pizza for us! We were going to talk about boys. After a while she showed me her father's old room. She told me how he left her mother and her but told them if they needed protection to use this handgun which she showed me. It was a .44 magnum, she stated. I had never grown up around guns so I wasn't impressed I suppose.
It was a sunny afternoon and we decided to go explore the dried-up river bed which was due to the fall dry weather and the controlled flow by the NYC Water people. Then, all of a sudden, her dog yelped and ran away! We wondered what could have scared him like that? There was a commotion up the river bed a ways and to our amazement we saw a bear coming out of the woods and a man with a rifle behind it!
I started to run for home, but then from behind me I heard my friend pleading “Wait for me!”. I stopped and turned to look at her and there she is standing in place, like she was frozen and shaking like a leaf! I thought about how I was going to be safe if I kept on running!
There was no imaginary finish line, this time a bear was running for his survival. But I let my heart rule my fear, this was my friend and even though I was different from the other girls because I was always trying to talk to them about how to get saved. So I ran back to her, went behind her back and I scratched her back and growled in her ear! She screamed and came alive! I exclaimed “last girl to the house is bear meat” and I started to run! This time she was racing me for life! Thankfully we both made it to the front porch without getting caught by the bear or shot.
From the safety of the porch we stood catching our breath, and the hunter came storming up to the porch! He began yelling at us and shaking his hands “what do you girls think you were doing? First one of you gets in my line of fire, then another girl shows up! My bear doesn't know if the screaming girls ahead of him are scarier then the man with the gun behind him!” “You girls ruined my bear hunt!”,
My stepfather was a man who, when he got upset, would hit me so I was afraid from my experiences. So while my girl friend was getting yelled at I went and got the handgun from the bedroom. My friend was crying, she told the hunter that he ruined her girls sleep over. I went out the side door, and took the gun and stood behind the aggravated man and pointed it in the direction of the woods. I pulled the trigger. I was in shock when the gun went bang and then jerked back and knocked me to the ground. There I was, sitting in the grass, looking at the gun, then at my friend. “I think you forgot to tell me about that!”
The man yelled in surprise then put his hand over his ears and cried “first you loose my bear, and now I can't hear”. The hunter said “dad-burned girls and guns” and left. I thought “well I found the bear, and it was time for him to leave!” I still had the gun in my hand and my friend came over and said it was time for us to start our time over again. “Give me the gun, very slowly!” “Sure girlfriend” I said.
That night I shared with my friend the story of Jesus, how he left his home, and how layed down his life on the cross to save mankind from their sin. And how by accepting this fact for yourself and by receiving this love by faith, one can be saved for eternity! She accepted Jesus as her savior that night and we were great friends.
Sadly my family had to move away and I lost contact with her, but then learned sorrowfully that she got involved with a drinking party crowd and at one party she got drunk then passed out in the night. They did not find her till the morning and she had died from exposure. I felt such a grief. As a youth I had saved my friend one time for life and helped her save her soul, but could not help her live her life better. We remain girlfriends forever, I think. “Greater love has no man than this; that he lay down his life for a friend”.
Cool story. Thanks for posting it.
Very sorry to hear what happened to your friend.
Always love your posts!
What is there to say?
Reminds me of the first time I fired a .357 magnum. Deliberately didn’t use ear protection because I wanted to know what it sounded like. Fired two shots at about 4:00 pm and my ears were still ringing at 10:00 PM.
Odd story, that. But i read the entire story, to the end, and understand the message. Thank you. And Bless you.
Dispatched a rabid raccoon in a paddock with a rifle, with no ear protection due to expediency. Five years tinnitus still. One shot. ,
Great post, as usual. Thanks.
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