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Allow me to explain the gun. My husband has a permit to carry a concealed weapon—in North Dakota. And in his favor, the gun was locked in the glove compartment of his car and was not loaded however, since he didn’t have a permit in MN for the gun that was added to the charges.

I knew nothing about this. (The arrest.) Totally clueless as to what had happened in MN. I’m at home with our children. Actually, had just gotten home from work and was talking to my mom who had been there to watch the kids as they were too young at the time to be left home alone. As I’m talking to my mom the doorbell rings and there on my doorstep are my in-laws, looking distressed and wanting to talk to me. We sat down and they explain they had gotten a call from the Minneapolis police and that Alan was in jail for “Being naked IN the Mall of America and he had a gun!” My mind could hardly process that when they say, “And that’s it. We don’t want him back in the store.”

So much went through my head in a space of a heartbeat. Why hadn’t I been called? Why Alan’s folks? Aren’t the police supposed to call the spouse? Alan doesn’t have a job. What’s going to happen to my children? Are we going to have to live on the street?

I had more anger than I care to admit. I was livid at my husband for what had happened all because of his stupid need to be naked and poor choices. I was angry with his folks for firing their only son and to my way of thinking, they were tossing their grandchildren out into the street and guess what, I’m STILL working through this anger toward the lot of them and yet….yet my husband no longer being employed by his parents is actually for the best. Father and son are oil and water and yet in many ways very alike.

I doubt very much if my husband would have ever told me anything had happened when he was away. In fact, I didn’t hear from him until the next day when he called to let me know he was on the way home. To my credit, I didn’t let on I knew anything had happened. I let him come to me. It’s so much more fun to blast someone when they’re in front of you anyway.

I got to be the one to tell him he’d been fired, and why. I can remember yelling, “What’s it going to take before you wake up? How far into the gutter does God have to take you before you stop this stupid, stupid behavior!?” I was being the voice of God! Yep, I would pound him into the ground with truth. I knew right from wrong and by golly I was going to beat my husband up until he finally stopped the behavior!

Any guesses as to how that worked out for me? Do you think he saw the light? Ha! And believe you me; it wasn’t from lack of trying on my part that prevented the revelation from forming in my husband’s brain. The truth is, I did more hindering than anything, and sometimes I truly believe God sits up in heaven shaking His head and sighing in exasperation because we bumble His work more often than not.