March 11, 2008, at age 82, I came face to face with stark, brutal terror! There was no time to think as I looked into the eyes of a man, his head and face covered with a black knitted ski cap. There was only one opening for the eyes so the wearer could see where he was going. He was dressed in black with a gun held in his gloved hand. On that beautiful spring morning I entered a small local bank and sat on a chair waiting to be called to the officer's desk to attend to business. When I stood up, I was completey caught off guard. I started toward the desk and came face to face with an armed bank robber. I will never forget the black covered face and the blue-black eyes staring at me face to face as he slammed open the door and shouted, "This is a robbery get down on the floor." I had no chance to obey the command for he grabbed my arm and threw me down to the floor at his feet. I could feel him as he stepped over the lower part of my body. There was a deathly silence. Then the sound of a voice, "Get down I don't want to hit you," followed by a muffled scream of pain then again silence. Complete silence. I realized that another robber had taken the place of the first. The second stayed on guard by the door where I lay at his feet. He stepped back and forth over my body quite a few times as he covered for the other robber with gun in hand. The other man, the first one to enter, went over to the tellers demanding money. The second robber in the process of watching and moving around, hit my legs and hips with his feet many times. An amazing thing happened to me! I seemed to be in a place a little disassociated from what was going on around me, vaguely hearing the man giving commands to the people by the tellers counter. I was not afraid! I could feel the protective presence of the Lord around me like the coverlet I wrap around me when relaxing. I became comfortable lying face down on the floor. Needless to say I began to have a little conversation with God. It is strange the thoughts that come into your mind when you are in the secret pace of the most high. I do not remember all my conversation but afterward I was amazed when I realized that I told the Lord I did not want to die with a bullet in my back. I had served the Lord since I was a young woman and I always faced trouble face to face. I remembered a saying of mine, "I will not die with a bullet in my back. If a robber wants to shoot me it will have to be face to face." During my lifetime of traveling in the service of the Lord, I had been stopped twice by men with evil intentions. They wore police uniforms... there was always that moment in which I could lift up my heart and mind to the Lord and he had led me and given me instructions on what to do and say. Now, here I was face down at the feet of a bank robber. I felt no fear when he put his gloved hand to my neck and pulled my chain with a cross around so he could see what it was. I would have liked to have seen his face when he discovered it was a cross made of nails and no diamonds. He hastily dropped it back on my neck and then I heard him say, "We will see what you have in here," as he reached over me and pulled the purse I was clutching in my hand to himself. I couldn't see him but I could feel him. A command came, "Be still I don't want to shoot you." I thought he was talking to the people lying on the floor by the teller. Then another loud command, "Be still mama I don't want to shoot you." The awful realization came; the command was directed to me! Unconsciously I had lifted my legs to keep from being stepped on and was trying to crawl away from him. In the process I had lifted my head and shoulders so I could pull myself forward on my elbows. I saw nothing but the other people lying on the floor by the tellers' counters. I obeyed that command immediately! "keep still mama, I don't want to shoot you" rang in my ears for several days and in my dreams, but through the grace of God the voices ceased. In a matter of moments the robbers were gone, and someone was helping me to my feet. One elderly gentleman had been hit on the head. No one else was hurt. I had bruises on my arm, a scraped elbow and knee, and a painful hip. I believe all things happen to us for a reason. I had never felt so close to the Lord as I had felt at that moment of danger when I reached out by the Spirit for His help. I am afraid we take our quiet times with the Lord for granted. They make us feel exhilarated and peaceful, but there is power in the secret place to sustain us through trouble. This was just a test to prepare me for anything else I have to experience while still on this Earth... When we watch the news and read His prophets we can see the reality of those things that are fast coming upon us, as we draw closer to the glorious coming of our Lord. Storm clouds are gathering around us in our personal life, our country and the whole world. We need to claim the promises of Psalm 91, and go often into our secret place as we wait to be prepared for His soon coming. | 
