Sam's New Life

Chapter 1

Sam Stevenson never thought his life would turnout like it did. No Way! After all his initials SS stood for Super Sam, his nick name since childhood when he tried to do everything at least once. When he made sergeant on his home town police department his pals called him Super Sarg; now those same pals were derisively calling him Super Saint. How had this happened?

Five years earlier when he was in his mid 40s and had begun to think about retiring and enjoying life with his wife, kids and maybe soon grand kids; life seemed easy with no problems that Super Sarg couldn’t handle.

One summer Sunday he and a couple of buddies went for an extended bike ride in the rolling hill country just outside of town, just like they had done for years, a couple of times each summer. Sam was the tail bike as they crested a long hill that had a steep decent, His riding buddies Jim and Bob were about 100 yards ahead of him as he started down the decent, it was a hot day and he was a little winded from the climb. As he stopped peddling to coast and reached for his water bottle he heard a car cresting the hill behind him. He never saw it but he could tell by the engine sound it was a fast powerful car. As Sam was tilting his head back to take a drink, he heard loud laughing voices from the car then he felt a sharp pain in his side and realized that he was careening off the roadway onto the shoulder. He knew he was going down but did not understand what had happened. Just before he hit the ground he again heard the laughing voices from the car as it sped away.

Sam’s trajectory off his bike caused him to land on his right side slamming his head onto the gravel, his helmet saved him from serious damage to his face and skull as his shoulder hit hard with his arm trapped under his side; he sustained a concussion and his shoulder was broken, his rotator cuff was torn, his elbow was shattered and his lower arm was hanging by the flesh. He had two broken ribs and his right hip was fractured, as he rolled off the gravel into the dirt and weeds he sustained scrapes and bruises over much of his body and blood was oozing from several cuts and scrapes.

Sam lay face up feeling the hot sun on his face and wondered why, when his buddies got to him he didn’t understand why they were there, his thoughts would not come into focus. As his pain and shock increased he slipped into a concussion induced coma.

Jim and Bob had both looked back when they heard the sound of the car’s engine and saw the whole thing happen. Someone in the back seat leaned out the window and snapped a towel at Sam as the car passed him. They could not tell if the towel had hit him but they saw Sam veer off the road and crash. They both rode their bikes onto the shoulder and laid them down as the car approached where they were, but it kept on driving, the sounds of yelling and laughter coming from its occupants. Jim had been able to get his cell phone out and get a couple of pictures of the car as it drove by.

Chapter 2

Jim and Bob rushed back to Sam, as they got to him he passed out, Bob checked Sam’s injuries as Jim called 911. Sam was alive but hurt bad, there was not much bleeding but Bob figured there was internal bleeding in his arm at the very least, he tied a light tourniquet just above the elbow to slow the blood flow.

The constable arrived first and checked Sam’s injuries and took their report; Jim blue toothed his pictures of the car to the officer as they waited for the ambulance. While the officer radioed in his report of the car Jim called a friend who was to pick them up at the end of their ride to come get them.

Both men hated the thought of calling Sam’s wife Sarah but they could not let an on duty police officer be the one to tell her. They decided to only tell her that there had been an accident and that he was being taken by ambulance to the Southside Hospital.

By the time Sarah made arrangements for the kids and got to the Southside hospital Sam was in surgery, she was a wreck with worry because she did not know anything. Right after Sarah checked in at the desk Jim and Bob arrived with their wives, they were visibly nervous, they had not heard anything about Sam’s condition or anything about the car and its occupants. They apologized to Sarah and she tried to reassure them that she knew it wasn’t their fault. They explained what had happened and that Jim had Sam’s bike at his house and that it was not damaged just a little scrapped up.

As they were talking, hugging and reassuring one another a hospital staff member came and asked which one was Mrs. Stevenson, with trepidation Sarah identified herself. She said that they needed to talk to her about her husband’s condition; Sam’s and Sarah’s dads both arrived at that moment.

They went with Sarah and the staff member as they walked up the hall to a small office, after a few minutes a doctor in scrubs came in and introduced himself as the Hospital’s head surgeon, he said that he had been observing the surgical team that was operating on her husband. He listed Sam’s injuries; he had a concussion and was in a coma, his right shoulder was broken and the rotator cuff had two tears, he had 2 broken ribs on the right side and a large welt on his left side, his right hip was fractured but he said that his main concern was Sam’s right arm below the elbow. The elbow joint was shattered and the muscles and nerves torn, it had only stayed attached by the skin and tendons. He said, “Southside Hospital does not have the equipment or skilled surgeons to save your husband’s arm. We are stabilizing him and making sure there is no internal bleeding then we want to life flight him to Baptist Memorial Hospital in the city so they can hopefully save his arm.”

Sarah sat there numb, her father and father-in-law holding her hands as she tried to comprehend what the doctor was telling her, “Ok.” was all Sarah was able to say. The surgeon said, “You should get a head start so that you can be there when he arrives.” Sarah’s dad drove her after her father-in-law said he would pick up their children and Sam’s mom and get a hotel by the hospital. Bob’s wife drove Sarah’s car back to Sarah’s house.

It was a long tearful drive to the city and the Baptist Memorial Hospital.

Chapter 3

Sam woke up 3 days later, he was in pain, stiff all over and had no idea why, he moaned as he tried to move and suddenly Sarah was hovering over him. The concern and love in her voice and in her expression were as scary as they were reassuring. “What had happened? Why was he in pain?” Sarah grabbed the control and pushed the call button for the nurse. With tears of joy she gently kissed his face and spoke calming words reassuring him that everything was going to be ok.

The nurse and a technician came in and immediately started checking his monitors, his pupils and his vital signs. The nurse gave Sam a shot for the pain now that he was awake the doctor in charge of Sam’s care had wanted to keep the opioid level in his body low while he was in the coma caused by the trauma of the accident.

In five minutes Sam was asleep, the doctor came in a few minutes later and checked Sam over again, he reassured Sarah that everything was going well. Sarah relaxed and reflected on all that had happened to her husband because of the accident. His right shoulder had been replaced, his broken ribs had been set and taped, his fractured hip had been set and his whole hip and leg placed in a cast. What worried Sarah the most was that they had to amputate his right arm above the elbow, Sam was left handed but still the whole right side of his body was plastered and taped. How long would his recovery take and how would this affect his career as a police officer?

After two more days of Sam being in and out of consciousness he finally was able to visit with those who came to see him and to interact with the medical staff. His doctor began to talk of his rehabilitation, “There is still much pain and frustration ahead but Sam you should make a full recovery and return to a normal life.” Sam lifter his amputated arm and said in anger, “Normal?” “Yes,” said the doctor, “normal, there will be a few things that you will have to do different but you can and should be able to live a normal life.”

Sam just grunted, of all the things that had happened to him losing half his arm was the one that got to him the most. Every time he thought about it his anger rose to an almost uncontrollable level. This scared Sarah the most because she had never seen him this angry.

After another week in the hospital Sam was transferred to a rehab facility that was more of a convalescent hospital than a rehab facility. His insurance would not pay for a better facility and since he was on disability rather than his regular salary they could not afford to make up the difference.

Chapter  4

Sam and Sarah began the long and painful process of his rehabilitation and bringing their family life back to normal.

Before his transfer from the hospital Sam had learned that one of Jim’s pictures had caught the license plate of the car and the driver had been arrested. He soon gave up the passenger in the back seat who had snapped Sam with the towel. They both had pleaded innocent and the other passengers were not cooperative witnesses. The towel was not in the car when the police had pulled the driver over the next day, so it was their statements against Jim and Bobs’. There was a law suit against the driver’s insurance company, they claimed no liability since the driver had not caused Sam’s injuries but a passenger.

The process was complicated by the fact that Sam did not see the car or anybody in it. The DA was having an issue with whether it was hit and run since the driver did not actually participate in the act of causing the accident and the person who was accused of snapping the towel was not able to stop because he was a back seat passenger. It was clear that he was the one that snapped the towel since he was sitting in the seat next to the passenger side rear window. The driver and the two other passengers all said they did not see it happen. Jim and Bob could not identify which person in the car was the one that snapped the towel only that it was the one that was in the rear seat on the passenger side. At that point it was still up in the air as to what the DA would do with the case, this of course added to Sam’s frustration and anger.

As the months passed and Sam was able to get around on his own he was sent home to continue his rehabilitation. His anger only increased when he learned that the DA decided not to file charges against the driver and to charge the towel snapper with misdemeanor mischief causing bodily injury. He pleaded guilty and was awarded a $1000 fine and one year probation.

Sam’s lawyer said with no charges against the driver it was not likely they would ever get any money from the insurance company so they dropped the lawsuit.

Chapter 5

From the moment Sarah heard that Sam had been in an accident she started praying. She was not a religious person, she did not go to church but she had just always believed that there was a GOD. Sam seemed to think that GOD was only a good curse word and Sarah had cringed each time she heard him use it.

Sarah’s parents, Ralph and Mary believed in GOD but they raised their children in the generation that allowed them to believe what they wanted without telling them what they believed.  Now they felt compelled to support Sarah and share their faith with her, as the weeks turned into months Sarah joined her mother for a weekly Bible study for women at her church.

Sarah soon understood that she needed what only GOD could offer, peace and assurance that He was in control and that all things would work out for her and her family as they allowed GOD to work in their lives. She stated taking the children to Sunday School while Sam was in rehab and by the time he came home his family looked forward to going to Church each Sunday.

At first Sam did not mind he was still in a lot of pain and enjoyed the couple of hours alone. As he continued to improve they kept asking him to join them but he did not want to so he always made some excuse. Sam began to resent his families new faith in GOD and their desire to “save” him.

Sam’s anger continued to simmer after the lawyer convinced him that the insurance company was not going to pay and that even if he won a civil-suit against the two men neither of them had any money to speak of so he would never be able to get anything from them either. Now his family was going to church and telling him that GOD would work out everything for their good if Sam would just believe in and trust GOD.

Their financial problems got worse as State Disability only paid a portion of Sam’s salary as a Police Sergeant and the insurance company never paid more than 80% of the bills. Sarah started talking about having to go to work so they could make ends meet. At the beginning of his recovery Sam’s friends on the Force and some other officers donated their sick days to Sam so he would still get his full pay, but that only lasted a couple of months.

Nine months after the incident Sam’s rehabilitation was progressing very slowly and the doctor’s were again advising him that he would never have full use of his right arm and hand. It was very likely that he would not be able to return to the force as a patrol officer or investigator since he would not be able to handle a weapon. The PO Union said they were trying to keep him on the force but he would probably have to take a Community Officer or desk job where a weapon was not required, this would also meant a cut in pay if he was even able to return to the Force at all.

Sam was determined to return to the force as a weapon carrying officer and began the process of learning to use his left hand for more than a scribbled signature. It was more difficult than he had imagined, and his right arm being practically useless made his balance off when he was trying to draw and fire, he could not hold his weapon in both hands since he could not raise his right hand above his waist, which was required as a standard of safe weapon handling.

This was just one more thing that drove Sam to be continually frustrated and angry. Almost to the day, one year after the incident Sarah and the kids left, she moved them to her parents home. She had started a job as a secretary in Sam’s Orthopedics’ office which just mad Sam crazy with thinking his wife and doctor were conspiring against him. He feared that Sarah would divorce him for his doctor even though the doctor was twenty years older and married.

The continual pain, the family issues and the financial strain were too much for Sam and he just started thinking crazy thought and the more he thought about these issues the worse his anger became. Even his close friends and his parents did not come around very often anymore.

Chapter 6

            Sam woke up one morning after a restless night of dreaming about the incident and he knew what he had to do to restore his life and marriage. He had to kill those who had caused him all this pain and grief, that was the only reasonable thing for him to do and everyone would understand, he just had to do this to restore his life.

He did know that he could not ask his friends on the Force to help, that would cause a conflict of interest for them. But, he did have all the information he needed, he had a copy of the original police report and the court documents, so he had their names and addresses.

Sam started working on his one handed gun handling so that he would not have any problems on the day of revenge. Because, he was going to get his revenge on those four men who had caused all this tragedy to happen to him and his family, Sam also knew he would have to kill all four on the same day. Since he wanted to make sure that he killed the towel snapper he decided to follow him for a couple of days and see if there was pattern to the four men getting together, if he could catch them all together that would be best.

Sam looked up the address of all four men and mapped out the quickest route to be able to kill all found within an hour of the first kill. Then he started following Steve Waters, the towel snapper to see his habits. He spent one week following each man until he was confident he could catch them all together in a deserted area.

What losers he thought as he formulated his plan, two of them stilled lived with their parents and two of them shared a rundown apartment in a poor section of town. They all had menial jobs and spent most of their time drinking and pulling stupid stunts for fun.

There was a bar just out of the city limits that they frequented a couple of evenings a week. Sam had actually gone in one night and sat at the bar watching them around the pool table, acting like fools and being boisterous. There were not many patrons in the bar at the time, the men seemed to prefer to get there have their fun and leave as the nightly group of regulars arrived.

From the bar they would go to a local diner and eat then head out to drink and drive till two or three in the morning. Then the driver would drop off the two back seat riders at their homes, they always sat in the same seats in the car, they never varied no matter what order they were picked up in. The driver and the front seat rider were the roommates.

Now Sam just had to plan where to ambush them, he began to memorize what he would say to them before he shot them. He wanted them to know who was killing them and why. Sam went over the route that the men usually drove looking for the perfect spot to commit murder. Yes, he understood that he was going to murder these men for what they had done to him and his family. He knew that if he was caught he would go to prison maybe even get the death penalty, but at this point he was driven for the need to get revenge and make things right in the world again. So Sam checked for a place that was as secluded as possible and where there were no surveillance cameras, he did not want to get caught if possible.

Chapter 7

            The next Sunday Sam wanted to see Sarah and the kids before he killed the men so he went to their Church. He wanted to let Sarah know that everything was going to be ok that soon he would be better and she and the kids could come home. Sam, never having been to Sarah’s family Church dressed up in a coat and tie like he had seen on TV. He had arrived early so that he would see them when they arrived and noticed that most people dressed casually, comfortably rather than being dressed up so he removed his coat and tie.

When he saw their car pull in he got out was walked towards where they parked. Sam approached the car as Sarah her parents and the kids got out of their car. The kids were the first to see him and ran to greet him hugging him and saying how they had missed him. Sam was elated at their reaction to seeing him. Sarah looked surprised but pleased she gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek as she expressed how glad she was to see him, her parents seemed pleased and cordial. As they talked for a few moments before heading into the building Sam expressed that he had just wanted to see them and that things were going better for him, that soon they would be a family again.

Once in the building the children when off to their classes and the adults entered the sanctuary to find seats. Sam was relaxed even though he had never been in a church building before, he followed Sarah’s lead as they sang the worship songs and Sarah introduced him to a couple of people during the greeting time before the Pastor started his preaching.

Sam had not known what to expect but he was comfortable and relaxed as the service progressed he felt almost at home. As the Pastor moved through his sermon Sam began to actually hear and understand what he was saying. The Pastor was teaching out of St. James chapter one where it says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation,” that temptation is when desire leads to sin and sin then leads to death. Sam had never thought about sin as the result of bad desires but as the action of weak willed or stupid people. Being a Baptist Church there was an alter call at the end of the service and Sam actually considered going forward but he held back.

After the service Sam followed Sarah’s family home and had Sunday Dinner with them, he got to spend some time with the kids who asked the hard question, “When can we come home?” Sam did not know how to answer but Sarah told them that things would soon be back to normal and they would all be together at home again. Sarah actually felt that what Sam had said in the church parking lot was true but she could not see how it was going to happen. Sam had no direct answer for her, just his reassurance that things would soon be right again and they would all be home together again.

That evening as Sam sat alone in his house again he was less confident, he had a couple of beers as he thought about the day’s events. He had really enjoyed being with his family, he had enjoyed the church service more that he thought he would. This made him think maybe he did not want to murder these men. Yet he knew that in two days he would be free of this drive for revenge on the men that had ruined his life, career and marriage. He had to do this but what then?

On Monday Sam returned to his routine of following Steve Waters as he watched him and the other men go about their careless lifestyle of drinking and mischief his ire and desire for revenge grew strong again.

Sam had decided to kill the men on a Wednesday because they usually went to a small park after dark not far from the diner. They would drink a couple of six packs and goof around and talk about what they wanted to do with their lives. None of them seemed to have any real ambition to Sam, they talked about getting married and having kids but they seemed content to live their lifestyle of drinking and carousing.

Monday night after drinking his usual couple of beers Sam went to bed, but his sleep was restless like it had been until he had decided to kill these men that had ruined his life. He could not remember his dreams but it seemed that there was a message in them. Sam was frustrated because his dreams were usually about himself in some familiar setting, they were never stressful even if every once in a while they would seem bizarre and usually shortly after awakening he could not remember their details.

Tuesday Sam made his final preparations, he had for a long time had a revolver that was not registered, it had been his dad’s and he had bought it back when you could just walk into a hardware store and buy a gun without question. He had decided to park his car a couple of miles from the park early and ride his bicycle there and wait for the men to show up. He knew there was a change they would not, but in the six weeks he had followed them they had only not gone there once. He had his revolver, six extra round, though he hoped he would not have to reload, a pair of elbow length black gloves and a ski mask just in case, and he knew he would be a suspect once it was figured out that these were the four men who had attacked him the year before.

That night as Sam tried to sleep he just could not, at first he thought he was just nervous and could not relax so he had a couple of extra beers to help settle himself down. He finally dozed off about two AM but he began to dream about the words of the pastor about desire, sin and death. He wrestled through the night with these thoughts awakening twice in a cold sweat.

Sam finally dragged himself out of bed about ten Wednesday morning, exhausted and frustrated. As he tried to relax and think about his thoughts and dreams of the night before, it felt like a war was going on in his conscience. Of course he had never done anything like he was planning to do that night, but he felt it was the right thing, the only thing that he could do to get his life, career and family back.

As the day drug on Sam continued to struggle with his thoughts, he knew he was committing a high crime and could go to prison for a very long time, but he knew this was the only thing he could do to make his life right again. “Right?” Sam did not realize that GOD was working in the depths of his soul to convict him of the very thought process that was leading him to commit four murders.

Finally the time had arrived and he drove to a side street not to far from the park. He got his backpack out and rode his bicycle to the park and hid himself in the bushes not far from where the men hung out. He planned to wait until they had drunk most of their beer before confronting them, telling them why they were going to die and then shooting them.

The four men arrived a little after seven and Sam watched as they went into their normal process of drinking and goofing off. As he sat there in the bushes watching them he began to see how sad their lives really were and how they just needed someone to guide them in life.

“What! What am I thinking?” Sam was confused by his thoughts, how could he feel sorry for these men who had as a joke ruined his life, career and family!

As the night wore on Sam realized that his conscience was not going to let him murder these men. That what they needed was guidance in how to be men rather than adult children. As he sat there he realized that, that was something his father and the military had instilled in him otherwise he might be no better than they were. “Now what?”

Sam sat there and watched as the men finished off their beers and stopped goofing off, he had never realized before that it was then they talked of their dreams and desires in life. As he listen to them for the first time he realized they were not much different than he was at their age.

After they had loaded into the car and left Sam biked back to his car and drove home. He had another sleepless night as he struggled with his new understanding of the men’s needs and his own needs.

Chapter 8

            Sam was at a loss for what his life meant and what he was supposed to do. For the last two months he had daily gone to his physical therapy and tried to keep his normal routine of meeting with a couple of his buddies from the Force once a week, he had followed the four men who he thought of as the men who ruined his life. Now he purposely learned their names, Steve Waters the one who struck him with the towel, Bill Peters the one who owned and drove the car, Jerry Sanders Bill’s roommate and Ralph Johnston, each of them had a story.

The two roommates Bill and Jerry never visited any family that Sam could tell, maybe they were not from around here. But, as Sam started to pay attention he noticed that Ralph’s family seemed dysfunctional. No matter the time of day Sam drove by Ralph’s father was sitting on the porch drinking a beer, it seemed he did not have a job.  Ralph’s mother could only be seen in the evening so she probably had a day job. Sam did not see any other children so Ralph either was an only child or the youngest and still at home.

Steve did not seem to have a father, Sam never saw a male figure around Steve’s home. He did see two teenage girls and a harried mother trying to provide for her family, he could see that she worked a day job but was always home in the evening with her children. Sam by his observations could see what the families’ lives were like but he had no concept of what these families’ realities were.

The Sunday following his aborted murder attempt Sam again went to his wife’s family Church. Sarah noticed that Sam was more relaxed then he had been since the incident, his interaction with the children was more playful and he seemed to really pay attention to the sermon. The pastor was still teaching from St. James, this time that Christians need to not just believe the Bible but do the works of GOD seen in the Bible. When the alter call was give Sam again felt he should go forward but sill did not see his need for salvation. After Sunday Dinner Sam asked Sarah if he could take her to dinner on Wednesday so they could talk about all that was going on, she agreed.

Sam continued to follow the men around for the next three days but Wednesday evening he picked Sarah up and took her to a quite restaurant so they could talk. He tried to explain what was going on in him but avoided anything about the four men he had been following. Sarah could see that Sam was different, more at peace but still not ready for the family to return. While staying with her parents Sarah had committed her life to GOD receiving the salvation of the death of Jesus Christ in her place, she wanted that for Sam and knew that until he made that decision on his own they would still have problems.

After their dinner Sam was still not sure what was going on in their marriage. They had both talked about the timing but seemed to be on different schedules. Sam was ready for his family to come home now. The fact that Sarah was working for his doctor still bother him and now she said she was a Christian and was happy that he was coming to church but they needed more time. As he tried to sleep that night he kept replaying their conversation trying to find any hidden meaning is Sarah’s words. When he fell asleep his dreams were like GOD was trying to tell him something that he just could not grasp.

Sam continued his routine through that week, but this time he actually looked forward to Sunday and joining his family at church and dinner. That Sunday the Pastor again taught from St. James about the sins of favoritism, adultery, murder and that if you sin in one area you have sinned in against the whole law. As a police officer this was a new concept to Sam, in law enforcement a person was only guilty of the specific law they had broken not all the laws on the books. Again when the alter call was given Sam felt the urge to go forward but held back because he still did not understand about salvation. So Sam spoke to the Pastor after the service and made an appointment with him for that Thursday afternoon.

As the week progressed Sam decided to start reading the bible, since the pastor was teaching from St. James he started there. He saw that James taught a lot about the suffering of the faithful through trials and tribulations, he felt that he had been through many trials and tribulations for the past year plus. Sam began to understand that James was teaching lifestyle for GOD rather than lifestyle for himself. He saw that there were promises of peace and healing for the faithful, but he still did not understand salvation.

When he met with the Pastor, Phillip Simmons, the Pastor explained from the Gospel of John about the fact that Jesus was actually GOD and man and that only through His gift of salvation could man be saved from eternal judgment. As Pastor Phil explained what salvation was and how GOD offered it to every person Sam realized his need for salvation and Pastor Phil led him in a prayer of repentance and he invited GOD’s Spirit to come into his life and teach him.

Sam left the Pastor’s office ecstatic, the first thing he did when he got to his car was call Sarah to tell her. She too was excited about Sam’s salvation and agreed that after this weekend if everything went well her and the kids would move back home.

That evening Sam started reading his Bible in the Gospel of John and fell asleep in his chair. He awoke about two AM a little stiff and realized that he had read so much of the Bible that he had not even thought to follow the men as he had been doing. Everything went well that weekend and Sarah and the kids moved home on Monday.

Chapter 9

            Sarah was still working at the doctor’s office and the kids were in school during the day so Sam was able to keep his schedule of therapy and following the men around and learning as much as he could by observation. He would get home in the afternoon just before the kids got home, then a couple of evenings each week he would make an excuse and go and follow the men. Sarah was starting to get worried about Sam’s evening activities, he was evasive about what he was doing and he had never been that way before.

Sam had joined the Church’s men’s weekly meeting and they had joined a family home meeting once a week as well. He was growing in faith and had recently been baptized. But Sarah was worried enough about Sam’s evasive behavior that she talked to Pastor Phil about it. They agreed for Pastor Phil to come over one evening and speak with them as a family.

The evening Pastor Phil showed up was just before Sam was heading out to follow the men, he wasn’t sure why he was still doing it, but felt the need to. Sam was caught off guard and felt uneasy as they sat down to talk at the kitchen table. After a couple of minutes of small talk Sam just asked, “So what brings you by Pastor?” “Well, Sarah had asked me to stop by to talk to you about your unexplained evening activities.” he replied. “What?” Sam asked, “Well, like tonight you were getting ready to leave when Pastor Phil arrived and you never give me a real explanation.” Sarah said. “I told you I’m just driving around to clear my mind.” “Clear it of what?” Sarah asked. “Well, you know.” Sam said raising his voice a little, “No I don’t!” Sarah replied raising her voice. Pastor Phil piped in, “Sam, Sarah is wonder if you are seeing another woman.”

Sam almost laughed out loud, “No.” he said, “nothing like that, believe me sweetie you’re the only woman for me.” “Then why won’t you tell me where you’re going and what you’re doing?” Sam looked at the Pastor and asked, “Pastor Phil, can you and I get together to talk about this in private?” “Well yes of course, can you come to my office tomorrow morning at ten?” Sam said, “Yes.” just as Sarah said, “Why am I being excluded here, I feel like I’m the victim.” Sam answered, “Sarah, I’m sorry, you have nothing to be worried about, but this is something that I stared before I became a Christian and I’m not sure how or what to do about it. Let me talk with Pastor Phil tomorrow and then I’ll tell you.” “Well, I don’t understand why you can tell me tomorrow and not now!” she snapped. “Please let me talk this over with the Pastor tomorrow and then I’ll have a better idea of what to do.” “OK!” Sarah said as she got up from the table and left the room.

Pastor Phil asked Sam, “Can we talk about this tonight and resolve this issue?” “No, this will take a couple of hours and I’m going to need your advice.” Standing up Pastor Phil stuck out his hand to shake and said, “Ok, I’ll see you in the morning.” Sam shook his hand and said, “Yes you will.”

The next morning Pastor Phil had spent the time praying and seeking a Word from GOD for Sam. When Sam arrived, he invited him in and after the usual greetings they sat down. Sam started from the beginning telling the Pastor about the incident and how things had gotten worst for him and Sarah as time went on. That he had gotten so upset about the whole injustice and expense that he had actually considered and planned to murder the men. But the night that he was going to kill them he stared to see them as misguided young men rather than vicious criminals that got away with attacking him. That it was right after his first visit to the Church, now he was still watching them but he did not know what to do. Sam felt some need to speak to them but just did not have anything to say that he felt would make a difference.

“Wow!” Pastor Phil said when Sam stopped. “As I was praying about our meeting this morning I was hoping for a Word from GOD for you but what I got was a feeling of peace. So my advice for you right now is to tell Sarah what you were feeling and thinking. Maybe at this point you should not tell Sarah that you actually planned to kill the men, just that you were thinking about it. Let’s pray about what to do next, we may want to contact the men and talk to them about their salvation. So let’s pray.”

Chapter 10

Two weeks later Sam and Pastor Phil went to the diner where the men ate most nights and waited for them. Sam had explained to Sarah what was going on and after some prayer and counseling with Pastor Phil things were getting back to normal. She wasn’t sure this was a good idea but the men believed that GOD had directed them to meet the men and talk to them.

When the men came in they sat at a booth like normal so Sam and Pastor Phil pulled up chairs to the end of the booth, sat down and introduced themselves by name only. Pastor Phil said, “Sorry to bother you but we wanted to talk to you young men about your lives.” Ralph asked, “What do you know about our lives?” with a tone of sarcasm.  Sam said, “Don’t get excited but I’ve been watching you guys almost daily for over a month.” “WHAT?” they exclaimed in unison. Sam said, ‘Let’s order some food, on us, and I’ll explain everything.” The guys looked at each other, Jerry said, “There’s only two of them I say let them buy our dinner.” The others nodded their approval.

The waitress was called over and orders were placed, Sam and Pastor Phil knew that they were over ordering but didn’t worry about that as long as they had their attention. From the moment Sam walked up to the table Bill and Steve sensed they should know him but did not know from where. After names were shared around the group, Steve who was seated in a corner of the booth caty-corner across from Sam pushed back in his seat and pointing stammered, “You’re, you’re the guy I hurt last year.” Everyone saw Steve’s countenance change, Sam put his left are out palm forward saying softly, “It’s ok, I know, that’s why we’re here.” Ralph called out toward the cash register, “Call 911 there’s about to be a fight!” Pastor Phil, called out, “Never mind, I’m a Pastor and there is not going to be a fight.”Addressing the group, “Gentlemen, let us explain why we are here.” Ralph said, “Ok, but be careful, we’ve been cleared by the courts.”

Steve looked back at Sam and with his voice all chocked up and his eyes full of tears he got out, “Sir, I am so sorry, I should nev…” and he could not say anything else. Sam welded up with tears and barely got out, “It’s ok, thank you for saying that.” Everyone sat silent for a few moments looking back and forth between the two men. Pastor Phil said, “Wow, that was powerful.” Sam reached his left hand across the table to Steve who clasped it in his left hand and they just looked at each other.

After another moment the waitress asked if it was ok to bring the drinks, the men released their clasp and everyone nodded. The waitress looked back over her shoulder as she walked away, she had seen the four men in the booth almost nightly for a couple of years and while they could be goofy and get rambunctious on occasion there were nice guys and good tippers.

Ralph looked at Sam and asked, “So what is it you want?” Sam looked at Ralph then Steve and said, “To forgive you. I want you to know that I have finally released my anger and hatred to Jesus Christ and I only want the best for all four of you.” he looked each of them in the eyes as he said that. There was silence for several moments then Pastor Phil cleared his throat as said, “We have come here to tell you about the soul healing eternal life giving gift from GOD called forgiveness. GOD wants each of you to have it you your life just as Sam and I do.”

“Hold on now,” Jerry said, “I don’t want to hear about any religious stuff that’s supposed to make me happy!” Sam said, “This is not religious, just hear me out.” The men looked around the table at each other, Steve said, “Go ahead we’re listening!” as he looked at each of his friend.

As their meals were being served Sam started at the beginning and recounted his last one and a half years since the accident (he finally saw it as an accident not an incident). Their food was eaten and the plates cleared, the men were all sitting aw struck as Sam completed his story of salvation rather than murder. At several points there were no dry eyes at the table and even the waitress was moved to tears at parts of what she heard.

At the conclusion each man looked Sam in the eyes and sincerely asked for his forgiveness which he freely gave. Then Pastor Phil said, “Men there is more to the story than you know, you heard Sam’s testimony of recently becoming a Christian by receiving GOD’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. That same salvation is available for you, all you have to do is believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of GOD died on a wooden cross 2000 years ago to take the punishment for your sins so that you do not have to go to the place prepared for the devil, eternal damnation in hell. I do not want you to make a decision tonight but we invite you to come visit our Church and find out more about Jesus. If you absolutely feel you want to make that decision tonight then let us talk to you privately” The waitress called from the cash register, “I want to, I believe what you said. All the men said, “Me too, I want to know about Jesus.”