From Tragedy To Triumph
By Rev. Nicole S. Mason, Esq.It was a warm summer night and I was planning to attend a pool party. I decided to ride through the neighborhood to see if I saw him. Although I knew he was a drug dealer, I wanted to remain friends with him. For several months I didn’t speak to him, because he had stood me up far too many times. However, I had just graduated from Howard University and I was feeling somewhat festive. I wanted to see if I could just stumble upon a late night rendezvous. I rode through the neighborhood and he was standing on his usual corner. I stopped the car and he immediately jumped in. I pulled down the street and we began talking. On this night, our discussion was very different than in times past. We weren’t talking about a late night rendezvous, but my friend looked dogged tired and he kept saying that he was tired. I thought he meant just tired from hanging in the streets, but I would soon learn that his tired was something deeper.
As we sat in the car talking, I happened to look out of the side back window. To my dismay, there was a gun barrel pointing inside and all hell broke loose! Gunfire erupted all around me. I started hollering and calling on Jesus. No, I wasn’t saved, but I like many people know that in times of trouble, Jesus is the first name to call on! When I called on Jesus, I could feel something lift me up out of the car and begin to push me down the street. As I was being pushed, I could still hear the gunfire behind me. I ran for about two blocks and my mind told me that I had been shot. I started responding to my mind. Your mind is very powerful. This is why it is important to watch what you think! I could hardly breathe or walk. I looked up and two people were standing on a porch. I asked them “Am I shot?” They said no and told me to come into their house. The woman told me to lie down on the floor and the man called 911.
When I went back to my car, because I wanted the police to know that it was my car and that I had been sitting there when the gunfire erupted, I learned that my friend had been killed and his body was still in my car. I nearly lost my mind, when I looked inside the car and his limp, riddled body lay there motionless. After that tragedy, I went through an emotional journey that led me right to the feet of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! It was during this time in my life that I found out what I was really made of and that I couldn’t do anything without the Lord. I learned how to use my spiritual resources, because all of my physical resources were depleted and useless. I had to go through it, so that I could tell you today that GOD IS FAITHFUL! I made it through that situation and I went on to law school.
After completing law school and passing the bar exam, the Lord called me to preach. I have been preaching now for 4 years. I left the practice of law to go into ministry full time. I am confident that the Lord saved me for a time such as this to encourage, educate and empower Women with the Word of God. I started a ministry called SISTERGRAM Ministries where my mission is to reach millions of women with the Word of God, to give them hope and to inspire them to be all that God has created them to be. My life took a major turn on June 7, 1992. God saved my life and I have never looked back. I encourage you to take the tragedies that have occurred in your life and turn them into triumphs by giving your life to the Lord today. God can take your misery and turn it into your ministry! I am a living witness!
In closing, the case was solved and the perpetrators brought to justice. One of the shooters is now a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! God can do anything but fail!!!
© 2005 SISTERGRAM Ministries * P.O. Box 5453 * Hyattsville, MD 20782 * 301-455-1903 * revnsmason@aol.com * www.sistergram.com
