ended up having a discussion about where to sit in relation to the main door.
I like to sit several rows down the center of the main aisle, to the right. She always wants to sit to the left, at the very back pew, right next to the door.
The reason we had this discussion is because of all of the recent, and not so recent church shootings. And no matter how much I emphasize how important it is to be tactically prepared for an emergency situation, she just doesn't "get it". "You're not a cop anymore, and it's not going to happen here anyway". Famous last words, especially for those that don't think it can happen to them. I'm NOT that guy. I spent years and years watching, training, and preparing for just such an event, all the while praying to our merciful Father that it doesn't happen here.
I am right handed, hence the reason I want to be sitting to the right of the door that is behind me. That gives me a tactical advantage should, God forbid, that one day some scumbag with evil intent and a gun walks through that door and starts trying to murder innocent people. My wife just doesn't understand the concept of being in the best possible position to deal with a problem that you're not going to be able to run from. Somebody starts shooting in church, I am not running. Because evil has to be confronted, from the best possible position available. No, she wants to sit right next to the door, to the left, which puts us at a tactical and situational disadvantage. No matter how much I explain it to her, she's not hearing it. Fortunately, she listens "most of the time" about other things that are as important, but this, no. She's even told me "God will protect us". Yeah, I know He will, but He also tells us that we have to help ourselves too. Which would include being in the correct tactical position if the worst was to happen. And properly armed.
It makes me sad that I even have to think about stuff like this. This isn't the world and country that I grew up in. But now, somebody has to protect the flock, and even though I am retired, I'm an old sheepdog that can't forget about old habits. And that when faced with true evil, it has to be confronted and defeated right then and there. And I know some will question the very presence of a handgun inside His House, but I honestly believe it is necessary. Even Jesus used violence in the Temple to cast out the money changers and other sinners from His Father's House.
I don't ever want to be involved in another firearm related incident. I hope and pray that no one ever gets shot in another church anywhere ever again. But the good people that attend churches everywhere deserve to be able to worship their God in whatever manner they have chosen to worship Him. And I can't see having to die while doing it.
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