The Power of Preparation161could be life or death, not only for me and Michael Hill [the
gunman] but for everyone in that building. And so I knew
that that was the moment that I had to make sure that every-
thing that I heard God say to me, was what I came out of my
mouth with.”
When an NPR interviewer asked her if being put in that
situation made her question her faith, she replied, “No, ’cause
I was too terrified to question him. I needed him [God] to talk
every minute he [the gunman] was there. I was calling on him
more than I’m calling on him any day. I was like, ‘God, what
we going to do now, what we going to do next, what do I say,
how do I say it?’ ’Cause remember now, he [the gunman] had
already shot a bullet right there in front of my face, in the
office, and it ricocheted. I’m sitting there literally [watching]
him unfold mentally. You know, spraying bullets everywhere,
loading up the magazines, you know loading bullets in his
pockets everywhere. I’m actually seeing him self- destruct
right there. So I knew that the power of my words had to be
power f u l.”
Her words were so powerful, in fact, that she single-
handedly talked gunman Michael Hill into laying down his
weapons and ammunition and surrendering to officers. What
she said was extraordinary. “It’s going to be all right, sweetie. I
want you to know I love you, okay? I’m proud of you. That’s a
good thing that you’re giving up and don’t worry about it. We
all go through something in life... You’re going to be okay.
It’s going to be all right.”^1
She spoke the words Michael needed to hear. She spoke
the words few people could fathom saying to a man carrying
an AK-47 and five hundred rounds of ammunition. She not