He ain't through wit' me yet...

God has a unique of reminding us who is in charge. When we get in our comfort zone, we can often lose track of that. We get comfortable with our jobs, our relationships and just with everyday life. And while we know he's there, we often take our blessings for granted. I have often wondered when my "wake up" call would come. You see, while I know him, I could do better. I know I fall short in certain areas, but for whatever reason, I think I'll have time to clean up my act. I've seen other people have death in the family get their attention. Others have had serious car accidents open their eyes. Fortunately for me, none of those things have happened. But I know, in due time, something was going to come along.

And sure enough, it did.

This afternoon I had some down time at work. So I decided to scoot down to the closest Bank of America and deposit a check. Usually, I go through the drive thru, do my business and go about my day. But on this particular day, I had a pretty large check my mom had sent me and I wanted to deposit it face-to-face. So, as I and the teller were having small talk as she did her thing, some random guy comes flying through the door and jumps on the counter.

"Everybody get down!"

Oh shit, I thought. This can't be happening. Not here. Not now.

He turned my way and I didn't know at that point whether he had a gun or not, but I knew he had something, so I just hit the floor, ducked and admittedly, waited for the pop. I saw the guy clear the counter and head for the teller by the drive thru window. Being less than 20 feet from he door I knew I had a good five seconds, at best, to make it to the door. Now, I'm not bank robbery savvy, but I know you're not supposed to draw attention to yourself, but I thought now or never. I had to get the hell out of dodge.

I turned, and with a squat-crawl, scooted for the door and didn't look back.

I made it!

But, in my duckin' down for cover and in my hast to get out, I left my keys and license on the counter to I still was stuck. I ran to the florist next door and told them to call 911 because the bank was being robbed. Apparently, whoever was at the window when the robbery saw it, had called police and they were already on the way.

Whoever it was was able to get away on a motorcycle and thankfully, nobody was hurt. I was an experience I will never forget, but for whatever reason, it hasn't really bothered me. I was able to get everything back, talk to the cops and continue with my day. As I shared my story with a couple of people, they told me they were glad I was alright and one person in particular said: "Someone was praying for you"


I have no doubt I am what I am because of the prayers of others. In this situation, it made me think even harder about where I've come from and what's left for me. When that man turned towards me, he could have easily pulled the trigger and if not killed me, he could've injured me pretty bad, but he didn't. When I went for the door, he could have shot me, but he didn't. For whatever reason, I was spared and am able to talk about it today. For that I'm thankful. After the fact, I said to myself, I know this wasn't where it was going to end. I wasn't about to let that happen. Not this day at least. I couldn't have imagined the look on my mother's face has she received a call from the police. I couldn't accept the fact that I wouldn't be able to see "her" again.

Our day will come when it will be "game over" for us. But for me, I was able to keep going, without a scratch. I have a lot left to do. And, I plan on making the best of it.

So don't trip, cuz he ain't through with me yet.