Article April 30, 2007 Issue

SAFE at gunpoint

BY MICHAEL TREVAIL

IT WAS A HOLDUP scene straight out of the movies. And I was in it. At 9:30 in the evening, I was walking to my car at the community college I attended in Northern California. Suddenly a tall, dark figure approached me from behind and shoved a gun into my side. This man was swearing at me and seemed very angry. I knew I hadn't done anything to provoke him, but I was afraid of what he might do to me.

At first I didn't have a clue how to react. I'd been attending this college for about a year, and the history of violence on campus was no secret. In fact, it had been widely reported in the city. This had prompted me to pray from time to time about the safety and peace of my college community. One thing that seemed completely clear to me at that moment, though, was that if I gave in to fear, it wouldn't help my situation at all.

With the gun still pointed at my side, I instinctively closed my eyes and began to pray. I affirmed that this guy couldn't take my sense of safety or protection away from me. I knew from my study of the Bible that I shouldn't view him as my enemy. I recalled this Bible passage: "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright" (Ps. 37:37). I silently affirmed that he was God's harmless, loving child and that I could be a witness to his real, spiritual identity right where we were standing.

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