today was an exciting day at avondale pattillo umc and not in the good way. our program director was heading to lunch and noticed a suspicious man lingering. there was a police officer in the parking lot finishing up a traffic stop when julia went over to ask him to check out the man. the man fled. they fought. he reached for his gun and the officer shoots him. the man dies.
tonight, i drove by after the kids and i ate dinner at avondale pizza cafe and then had a delicious treat at the decatur dairy queen. it was as if nothing had happened. no tape. no police. no television crews. silence. emptiness.
but the effects will last...
i worry about the police officer who discharged his weapon, rightfully afraid for his life
i worry about about julia and any feelings of guilt that she may have for sending the police to question a man who would lose his life because of what he was hiding
i worry if it will make my congregation feel less safe
i worry for the family of the man that made a decision that would end his life
the old story of the nails and the fence comes to mind. about the boy who got angry and his dad told him to hammer a nail into the fence every time he got angry. and once he worked through that he was able to slowly remove the nails, but they left a mark. it's a story about how our actions leave marks long after they are gone. i wonder how about the holes that today will leave... will they be large gaping holes that will require us to replace the boards all together or will they be small and barely noticeable, slowly letting in light and water that wears the boards thin?
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