My Testimony
It was the year of 1995. A muggy summer day wrapped around the city like a heavy blanket. During that time, a great number of women in Atlanta, had been murdered or sexually assaulted. I never feared, but tried to be aware of my surroundings at all times. God was my best friend, even though I had not received Christ in my life as of yet. Even though I had no family near me, I possessed an indescribable faith, which assured me that my son and I would always be taken care of.
After a long work week, I settled into a very deep sleep that night and began to dream, or to see a vision. I have always been terribly afraid of snakes and the dream (vision) was one that showed me a snake crawling between my sheets as I slept. I immediately jumped up and started looking for this serpent who had violated my peace. Then I asked myself, what will I do when I find it? I settled back on my pillow and closed my eyes, that’s when I heard a sweet voice speak to my spirit, “if you don’t give your life to Christ, you will die.” I cried out to God to save me. I shared this with a very close friend, who had been a Christian for quite some time and she prayed with me to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior. This vision was given to me three years before the enemy assaulted my life.
My son Emmett, was 14 years old when we lived in College Park, Georgia, a suburb twenty minutes south of Atlanta. This was a middle-classed area full of hardworking folks, and we knew most of the people on our street. Emmett was quite a sociable young man, and always looked for an opportunity to gather on the street with the neighborhood kids. I was a single Mother and very selective in who I granted access into his impressionable life.
There was a single mother that lived next to us, who had a son named Wayne. She worked three jobs, and needless to say, was never at home. This gave Wayne a lot of time to get into trouble. He often threw parties during the day, when he and about twenty attendees should have been in school. Of course, I reported this to the local high school where they were enrolled and the principal politely told me, “this guy is trouble” and you need to stay as far away from him as you can.
One day a group of teenagers were brandishing guns in the middle of the street in front of our house. I immediately called Emmett inside just seconds before they started discharging those weapons into the air. I called the police and they came to get a report detailing descriptions of the perpetrators and the type of vehicle they were driving. From my understanding, some of them were taken into police headquarters for questioning.
That hot summer day I referred to in the beginning, turned into a hot muggy evening. Emmett and I had just finished watching the news and the first five stories were about the violence against women that resounded all over the state. It was about 11:30 p.m. when I said to Emmett, “we must pray for safety”. After we prayed, he went across the hall to his room and I proceeded downstairs. As I reached the foyer the doorbell rang. I turned toward the door and peered through the peephole but could only see the top of someone’s head. I shouted, “who is it,” A young man answered, Is Wayne here!!?? I responded, “Wayne lives next door.” He answered- “I think you are lying!!!!” Before I could respond, the sound of gunfire rang out and I felt a persistent pressure in my left side. My brain took a while to figure out what had just occurred. I grabbed my side and realized; I’d been shot! There was no pain, for the nerves had been severed. I yelled to Emmett to call 911 and get in the closet because I didn’t know if he was going to try to enter the house and harm my son. Emmett instructed me to pray!!!
Emmett called my best friend who lived about three minutes from us. She later told me that she had plans to get in the shower around that time and every time she headed toward the bathroom, she would think of something else she had to accomplish. If she had been in the shower, she never would have heard the telephone ring. She arrived ten minutes before the EMTs and was holding me in her arms and pleading with God to save my life.
I was taken to the best trauma center in the country (Grady Hospital). The wound was from a twelve-gauge shotgun which was fired at point blank range. You see, I never opened the door, but the young man placed the barrel of the gun on the other side of the door and fired. The miracle was that the bullet was one inch from my femoral artery. It entered just below my pelvic area and exited through my hip. There was very little bleeding and no bone was damaged.
The detective handling the case later told me that Wayne was the target and not me. He had some altercations with some other people who weren’t too fond of him. The plan was to harm Wayne’s mother but the person responsible for carrying out this attack was inebriated and went to the wrong house.
The process of healing was slow, that’s when I experienced the most pain. The nerves started to regenerate by webbing together the next day! Psalm 139:14- “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” I discontinued my pain medications because I could tell I was becoming addicted and could not function. I asked the doctor to just give me some Tylenol and that was all I needed.
I thank God that He has used this ordeal to bless many. After the recovery period, my Pastor sent me to minister at the Youth Detention in South Atlanta, and the young men received Christ by witnessing the power of God in my life. I know now that this experience was for a reason, His plan and purpose.
Rose Gibbs-Miller
Sensationally Seasoned 