Brilliant Miller's Blog

Dealing with What’s Jammed

By Brilliant Miller | May 14, 2020

New Feature: Storytelling

To develop my storytelling skills, and, hopefully, entertain and inspire you (and sometimes challenge you!), I’ll be using some Three Point Thursdays (including this one) to tell true stories instead of my normal “100 Words To Help You…”

Please let me know if you miss the “100 Words” and what you think of this story. You can also review the archives here:

(Disclaimer: Many of the stories I am drawn to deal with matters of life and death and other existential matters. I intend to become more playful with my storytelling, but this one’s kind of heavy. Read on, brave reader!)

This Week’s True Story: Dealing with What’s Jammed

One quiet afternoon, a friend of mine was at home when he heard a man screaming outside.

This was not the sort of neighborhood where it was customary for people to scream loudly, and my friend knew immediately that someone was in pain, or danger or both.

He looked outside to see what was going on.

What my friend didn’t know, yet, is that a few weeks earlier his neighbor had been out shooting. During his outing, his shotgun jammed.

He packed it up and put it away with a cartridge still in the chamber, deciding to deal with it later.

It wasn’t until this quiet day that the neighbor finally got around to dealing with his jammed shotgun.

As he reached to retrieve it from its high shelf, he put one hand over the barrel. The gun discharged, removing his hand.

That was when he ran outside, screaming.

My friend called for help.

The neighbor survived the loss of his hand and eventually recovered.

While he was in the hospital, ladies from his church cleaned up the mess.

I tell you this to encourage you to deal with the things you’ve been putting off.

To discourage you from waiting for someone else to resolve them. Don’t ignore them, hoping they will simply disappear.

Remember that life only ever happens now, and your only point of power is in the present.

Know, too, that there are people around you who are willing to help you deal with anything.

Whatever challenges you face—no matter what in your life might be jammed—you have what it takes to face and overcome it.

And help is always available.