Commentary; Posted: 4/6/05
Atlantaóthe home of a brave woman
John C. Blackford
Religion Columnist
The last phrase of our national anthem, ìThe Star Spangled Banner,î declares us to be ìthe home of the brave.î
Atlanta, GA is the home of the Major League Baseball team the Atlanta Braves. Last month it became the home of a very brave woman, when Ashley Smith, confronted by an alleged quadruple murderer, peacefully brought about his surrender to the authorities. One report described it as a ìmodern day story of redemption.î
On March 11 convicted rapist Brian Nichols, in an Atlanta courtroom facing charges, seized a deputyís gun and began a killing spree that left four dead, including the judge. He fled the scene and traveled in a stolen car 30 miles north.
About 2:30 in the morning Ashley Smith returned to her apartment after a stop at a convenience store. Brian Nichols saw her and followed her to the door, and then pushed her into the apartment. With a gun to her ribs he said, ìIím not going to hurt you if you do what I say.î
A terrified Ashley Smith replied simply: ìOK.î
Inside the apartment he bound her hands and legs with masking tape, an extension cord and a curtain. ìHe wrapped my hands in a prayeróin a praying position,î she said. He carried her into the bathroom, covered her head with a towel and took a shower. Afterward he untied her and they began to talk.
Ashley told him that her husband had been stabbed to death four years earlier, and that he had died in her arms. Her five-year-old daughter was living elsewhere with an aunt and she was planning to see her that morning.
ìI told him if he hurt me, my little girl would not have a mommy or a daddy.î
She asked for permission to read, and he agreed. ìI got my Bible, and I got a book called The Purpose Driven Life,î she said.
After she had read the first paragraph of Chapter 33 Nichols asked, ìWill you read that again?î After repeating it she began talking to him about God. ìHe needed hope for his life,î she said, and ìHe told me he was already dead.î
Ashley Smith knew about the need for hope. After her husbandís murder the young widow sank into a deep depression that left her ìnot wanting to live, but not wanting to die,î according to her mother.
She lost her job, and then her home and her daughter when she could not afford them. Earlier this year she began to pull things together. She found a steady job, and enrolled in a medical assistantís program.
Ashley told the intruder she had found meaning in life, and that God could still have a good purpose for his life.
ìAfter we talked he said he thought I was an angel sent from God, and that he was lost and God led him to me to tell him that he had hurt a lot of people,î she said.
She urged him to surrender to police. At sunrise Ashley made hot pancakes for her captor, who was so overwhelmed by her kindness that she was able to persuade him to allow her to leave to visit her daughter.
By the time she left he had placed all his weapons under a bed. He probably knew she would turn him in, but he neither threatened nor harmed her. She immediately called 911, and within a few minutes a SWAT team surrounded the building. Carrying a white towel of surrender, he quickly and quietly gave himself up to the officers.
Later Ashley Smith mentioned other details of her traumatic experience. As she read from The Purpose Driven Life (many of you have found inspiration from Pastor Rick Warrenís book) she picked up where she had been reading the night before.
She finished the first paragraph of the 33rd chapter, ìHow Real Servants Act,î which states ìwe serve God by serving others,î and the alleged murder pleaded, ìStop, will you read it again?î
Her own life was anything but easy, but when she was called to read what she had previously read and believed, she was equal to the task. ìYouíre here in my apartment for some reason,î she told Nichols. He said he was just seeking ënormalnessí in his broken life. She gave him a glimpse of Christís redemptive power and the demonstration of it came when he confessed to her that ìI was his sister and he was my brother in Christ, and God had led him to me.î
Godís grace came through the words of the book (a best seller) and more profoundly by her actions which backed up the words.
Little did Ashley Smith realize that when she accepted Christ as her Savior and began turning her life around, she was being prepared for a demonstration of bravery that would stir a whole nation.
The odds had been against her for several years, and hugely so when she was hostage to Brian Nichols, but she had learned to trust God.
In the account of the capture of Jericho in the Old Testament book of Joshua, chapter 6, we read how the walls of a city fell down when the children of Israel shouted; so we are reminded that spiritual victories are won by means and upon principles that humanly may seem inadequate and even foolish.
Ashley brought down walls of vicious, murderous hatred around Brianís heart by means the law does not possess.
Charles Colson, the founder of Prison Ministries, served time in prison for his part in the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration in the early 1970s.
He wrote in The Wall Street Journal for March 18 about the lessons of Brian Nicholís last hostage: ìThere is a wonderful lesson in thisóan encouragement to all of us. If we trust the promises of God, we need not be held hostage by fear, the most dangerous hostage-taker of all. We can discover what we Christians celebrate duringÖholy week: the great joy and power of faith, no matter the circumstances.î
On the Thursday before Easter Ashley Smith was presented with $70,000 in reward money for her part in Brian Nicholís apprehension.
Her grandfather announced the family planned to hire a financial advisor to help her manage the money. He said ìHopefully, itís going to be used for educationÖto pay off some loansÖ(and) to give a portion of it to the Lord.î
Acknowledgements: Minneapolis Star Tribune, Wall Street Journal and World Magazine.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605