113. Talk about how a person can change his direction.
The first thing that popped into my head when I read this question was an incident back in 9th grade. This incident was a big turning point in my friend’s and my life. As we lived in a little compound in Saudi Arabia, we were surrounded by a lot of security as means of protection through day and night. With several cop cars patrolling the area, we strolled carefully on the footpath just after sneaking out of our houses a bit after midnight. We pushed my golf cart out of the garage trying to make the least amount of noise as possible. After getting a few blocks away, we start it up and drive it up to the “Gawar Tent”, just in time before the next round of patrolling cars came by. Being an electric golf cart, we were silent and able to avoid attracting attention. We drive up to a thick tree and park out golf cart under it, allowing it to be hidden from the dark moonless night. We run up to the tent, only disappointed to find the main door, along with the emergency exit, to be bolted shut. We try our luck with the kitchen entrance, even after noticing the “Staff only” sign on the door. To our convenience, it opened with a little push. We walk in and make ourselves confortable, while leaving all the lights shut.
Out of nowhere, a strong beam of light shoots in through the window. We look out only to find a cop car facing straight at the golf cart. The driver gets out of the car and scans the vehicle for a couple seconds, then heads towards the tent. At this point, my heart was in my mouth. We were all set with a story as soon as the cop walked in. The cop walks up to the main door and the emergency exit and got the same response from the door as we did. As he continues to walk around the tent towards the kitchen entrance, we look for ways to escape only to realize that it was too late, and there was no escape. He casually walks up to the door, talks a look at the sign, and then gently turns the handle. With a tired sigh, he turns around and walked back to his car. Even though our hearts skipped a couple beats, we knew we’d live right after we see the cop drive away in his car.
After making the decision that it was safe to head back, we get back into the golf cart and drive off silently. This day was a big turning point in my life because it was only after this day that I completely believed in God’s existence. I highly doubt that it was mere coincidence that this event could have taken place that night. My views and life changed and took a completely different path at this point in my life. I led to think a lot more about my decisions all due to this incident.
Great post Dave!
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting to read, however, it would have been fabulous if you could further emphasize what you learned from this harrowing experience. Your last paragraph was a bit sparse. Sparse, but captivating!