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Jennifer A. Schuchmann / Aimee Herd reporting : Aug 16, 2005  Today’s Christian

Who can forget that remarkable story of simple faith and compassion expressed to an alleged killer that ended in the surrender of the Atlanta fugitive last spring? Word of one woman's courage filled the newspapers and media around the nation, and even the world, as we learned how Ashley Smith - held captive in her apartment by Brian Nichols - shared her testimony and faith, reading to Nichols from the Bible and the Purpose Driven Life.

On the morning of March 11th 2005, Nichols had allegedly shot and killed his judge, court recorder and a sheriff deputy as he escaped from the Atlanta courthouse where he was to be tried for rape and sodomy. A day of random carjacking and more alleged killing had brought him, later that night, to his fateful and divine encounter with Ashley Smith.

Writing for Christianity Today, Jennifer A. Schuchmann explores the background of Ashley Smith and why she was just the right person to relate to Nichols and break through to his heart with saving truth.

In the article, Frank Page, Ashley Smith's pastor, explained, "Her life has taken so many twists and turns. She has had such difficulty, in growing up and in other ways that she has not had the reactions that many others would have had if they had been confronted with some of the traumatic events that she experienced. Yet, she is not a bitter person. Those multiple hardships have brought her to the point where God could use her as a person who was not bitter."

According to Page, Ashley was looking for God's purpose in her life and found it on that morning in March; "She told me, 'You know, when I realized this man wasn't going to hurt me, I just felt God fill me up. I knew at that moment that this was my purpose in life and that, if I could relate to him, and calm him down, and get him to trust me, I could keep him from hurting anybody else.'"

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