This is a wonderful story concerning the recent hostage taking by a man who had just killed at a local courthouse in Atlanta.
Hostage's servanthood turns accused killer's heart, gains her freedom by Mark Kelly
ATLANTA (PD)--Ashley Smith never dreamed that living out the principles of chapter 33 in The Purpose Driven Life would save her life.
She hadn't even read the chapter yet -- the one entitled "How Real Servants Act." It was her next day's reading.
But when an escaped prisoner forced her into her apartment at gunpoint, the young mother of a 5-year-old turned his heart by serving him.
Smith was accosted on the parking lot of her apartment in suburban Gwinnett County about 2 a.m., March 12, when she returned from a store. Brian Nichols, an escaped prisoner suspected in four murders the previous day, tied her up while he thought about how to avoid the massive manhunt being conducted for him. He reportedly had overpowered a deputy escorting him to court for a rape trial.
During her 7 1/2-hour ordeal, she talked to her captor. They talked about the Bible. She showed him family photos. She told him about how her husband had died in her arms four years earlier. She asked him to not kill her because that would leave her daughter without a mother or a father. She was supposed to pick her up in a few hours. They hadn't seen each other in two weeks.
Smith asked if she could read to him and picked up her copy of The Purpose Driven Life. Her reading for the day was chapter 33, which says in part:
"We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. ... To be like Jesus is to be a servant. That’s what he called himself."
It also contains these words, which must have seemed prophetic at the time:
"Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry and are happy for the opportunity to practice serving."
Being taken hostage at gunpoint by an accused rapist and killer would be an interruption in anybody's book. And serve is what Ashley Smith did.
Just before daylight, Nichols told her he needed to move the stolen truck he had been driving, which was parked in front of her apartment. He asked her to follow in her car, and he drove a couple of miles before abandoning the truck. Though she had an opportunity to drive off and leave him, she didn't.
Nichols was astonished.
Back at her apartment, she made breakfast for him -- eggs, pancakes, and fruit juice. They ate breakfast together.
Finally, Nichols agreed to let her go meet her daughter and asked her to visit him in jail.
"You're an angel that God led me to," he said. "I want to talk to you again."
"You're here in my apartment for some reason," she told him, suggesting that his escape from authorities had been a miracle and that God must have a purpose for him, even in jail.
The next evening, talking to reporters about her ordeal, Smith said God had a purpose in her being taken hostage: "I believe God brought him to my door so he couldn't hurt anyone else."
Hostage's servanthood turns accused killer's heart, gains her freedom by Mark Kelly
ATLANTA (PD)--Ashley Smith never dreamed that living out the principles of chapter 33 in The Purpose Driven Life would save her life.
She hadn't even read the chapter yet -- the one entitled "How Real Servants Act." It was her next day's reading.
But when an escaped prisoner forced her into her apartment at gunpoint, the young mother of a 5-year-old turned his heart by serving him.
Smith was accosted on the parking lot of her apartment in suburban Gwinnett County about 2 a.m., March 12, when she returned from a store. Brian Nichols, an escaped prisoner suspected in four murders the previous day, tied her up while he thought about how to avoid the massive manhunt being conducted for him. He reportedly had overpowered a deputy escorting him to court for a rape trial.
During her 7 1/2-hour ordeal, she talked to her captor. They talked about the Bible. She showed him family photos. She told him about how her husband had died in her arms four years earlier. She asked him to not kill her because that would leave her daughter without a mother or a father. She was supposed to pick her up in a few hours. They hadn't seen each other in two weeks.
Smith asked if she could read to him and picked up her copy of The Purpose Driven Life. Her reading for the day was chapter 33, which says in part:
"We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. ... To be like Jesus is to be a servant. That’s what he called himself."
It also contains these words, which must have seemed prophetic at the time:
"Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry and are happy for the opportunity to practice serving."
Being taken hostage at gunpoint by an accused rapist and killer would be an interruption in anybody's book. And serve is what Ashley Smith did.
Just before daylight, Nichols told her he needed to move the stolen truck he had been driving, which was parked in front of her apartment. He asked her to follow in her car, and he drove a couple of miles before abandoning the truck. Though she had an opportunity to drive off and leave him, she didn't.
Nichols was astonished.
Back at her apartment, she made breakfast for him -- eggs, pancakes, and fruit juice. They ate breakfast together.
Finally, Nichols agreed to let her go meet her daughter and asked her to visit him in jail.
"You're an angel that God led me to," he said. "I want to talk to you again."
"You're here in my apartment for some reason," she told him, suggesting that his escape from authorities had been a miracle and that God must have a purpose for him, even in jail.
The next evening, talking to reporters about her ordeal, Smith said God had a purpose in her being taken hostage: "I believe God brought him to my door so he couldn't hurt anyone else."
Comments