adrenaline letting loose. What my dad was saying still registered though.
“You are?” I asked.
“Of course I am. There’s something I need to tell you. We wanted to tell you when you were old enough. After today, I think you are ready.”
“Tell me what?”
“When you were a baby, you had gotten very sick for a few days. It started out as just a cough, but it got really bad. One night we decided to take you to the hospital. On the way there, you’d stopped breathing. Your mother was in a complete panic. It was an awful night, cold and rainy. I knew we weren’t going to make it on time. The hospital was still almost ten minutes away.”
“What did you do?”
“The only thing I could do. I pulled over, put my hands on you and prayed. I begged God to save you. I told him if He saved your life that we would dedicate you to Him. We’d prepare you for a life doing His work. After I prayed, you began crying. The sickness was gone completely.”
I wasn’t even sure what to say. How does a twelve-year-old respond to being told his life is dedicated to a higher purpose?
“Tonight was proof that God is working in your life. You’re a warrior son.”
“I am?”
“Just look at yourself. Of course you are. Tonight with that vicious dog? It was like a modern David and Goliath. That dog should have torn you apart. Yet you found a way to kill it. Now no one will ever be hurt by that thing again.”
He had a point. It was all quite overwhelming. Dedicated to God, David and Goliath? It was a lot for a kid, but I tried not to get a big head.
Several years later when I was in high school, I was coming back from Bible study when my car got a flat tire in downtown San Antonio. It was late at night and I was under an overpass. I got out and started to change it when I heard a woman scream.
I ran toward the scream. It was around the corner from the overpass. When I got there, a man was standing outside of a parked car. He had a woman by the hair and was pulling her out through the driver’s side window. I ran over to try and stop him.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Get away from her!”
The man turned. He was wearing a dark jacket and had a diamond stud earring.
“This ain’t none of your business man. Now get the fuck outta here!”
He went back to pulling on the woman’s hair as if I was just an annoyance. The woman kept screaming as he yanked her further out of the window. By then she was almost halfway out. At a loss for what to do, I ran up and punched him in the stomach. It didn’t have much effect, but he let go of the woman and turned to me.
“Shit, kid, now you just fucked up. I’m gonna beat your ass now.”
“No you’re not.” I said. I was horrified at first. My hands were shaking as sweat started down my forehead. The man came toward me and took a swing. His fist connected with my forehead, knocking me backward. I fell flat on the ground as he stood over me.
“Get up bitch! What you gonna do?” He kicked me in the side before I could move. While the punch and kick hurt, I was more stunned than in actual pain. I climbed to my knees and made it back to my feet. He stood waiting for me to regain my composure. I could tell he wanted to fight. The women had driven off by this time. Hopefully to get help, but I wasn’t counting on it.
The man swung at me again; this; this time I was ready, and moved out of the way. I hadn’t had any real training in fighting skills. He swung again and I side stepped this one. But he connected on the next blow, right to the side of my face. I kept to my feet this time though. I had no doubt that this was a fight to the death. Just like the dog when I was twelve, here at the age of seventeen, I was in another fight for my life.
The man swung again, this time, I ducked and swung back, hitting him in the stomach, then followed with a quick
“You are?” I asked.
“Of course I am. There’s something I need to tell you. We wanted to tell you when you were old enough. After today, I think you are ready.”
“Tell me what?”
“When you were a baby, you had gotten very sick for a few days. It started out as just a cough, but it got really bad. One night we decided to take you to the hospital. On the way there, you’d stopped breathing. Your mother was in a complete panic. It was an awful night, cold and rainy. I knew we weren’t going to make it on time. The hospital was still almost ten minutes away.”
“What did you do?”
“The only thing I could do. I pulled over, put my hands on you and prayed. I begged God to save you. I told him if He saved your life that we would dedicate you to Him. We’d prepare you for a life doing His work. After I prayed, you began crying. The sickness was gone completely.”
I wasn’t even sure what to say. How does a twelve-year-old respond to being told his life is dedicated to a higher purpose?
“Tonight was proof that God is working in your life. You’re a warrior son.”
“I am?”
“Just look at yourself. Of course you are. Tonight with that vicious dog? It was like a modern David and Goliath. That dog should have torn you apart. Yet you found a way to kill it. Now no one will ever be hurt by that thing again.”
He had a point. It was all quite overwhelming. Dedicated to God, David and Goliath? It was a lot for a kid, but I tried not to get a big head.
Several years later when I was in high school, I was coming back from Bible study when my car got a flat tire in downtown San Antonio. It was late at night and I was under an overpass. I got out and started to change it when I heard a woman scream.
I ran toward the scream. It was around the corner from the overpass. When I got there, a man was standing outside of a parked car. He had a woman by the hair and was pulling her out through the driver’s side window. I ran over to try and stop him.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Get away from her!”
The man turned. He was wearing a dark jacket and had a diamond stud earring.
“This ain’t none of your business man. Now get the fuck outta here!”
He went back to pulling on the woman’s hair as if I was just an annoyance. The woman kept screaming as he yanked her further out of the window. By then she was almost halfway out. At a loss for what to do, I ran up and punched him in the stomach. It didn’t have much effect, but he let go of the woman and turned to me.
“Shit, kid, now you just fucked up. I’m gonna beat your ass now.”
“No you’re not.” I said. I was horrified at first. My hands were shaking as sweat started down my forehead. The man came toward me and took a swing. His fist connected with my forehead, knocking me backward. I fell flat on the ground as he stood over me.
“Get up bitch! What you gonna do?” He kicked me in the side before I could move. While the punch and kick hurt, I was more stunned than in actual pain. I climbed to my knees and made it back to my feet. He stood waiting for me to regain my composure. I could tell he wanted to fight. The women had driven off by this time. Hopefully to get help, but I wasn’t counting on it.
The man swung at me again; this; this time I was ready, and moved out of the way. I hadn’t had any real training in fighting skills. He swung again and I side stepped this one. But he connected on the next blow, right to the side of my face. I kept to my feet this time though. I had no doubt that this was a fight to the death. Just like the dog when I was twelve, here at the age of seventeen, I was in another fight for my life.
The man swung again, this time, I ducked and swung back, hitting him in the stomach, then followed with a quick
Similar Books
