Aug 15th, 2005 by Jesse Moore
Something happened at church a couple of months ago that I've been meaning to write about...
It was at the end of the school year, and at the end of the service our pastor mentioned that there was someone in our congregation that he wanted to pray for. This was not unusual - a lot of kids were graduating from high school, going on to college or the mission field, and it was common practice to pray for their protection as they left their family (in fact, this was on the heels of news that a missionary from our congregation was imprisoned for preaching the gospel in Malaysia). Our pastor asked a young man to come forward, and as he did, the pastor began explaining what a joy it had been to see this graduating senior grow up from a small age, witnessing his baptism, fostering his leadership within the youth group, playing in the church sports league...and so on.
It's funny now, what I assumed. He described a young man with a heart for God, and I imagined a missionary. He described a leader, and I imagined a pastor. I looked at the parents of this young man, and they were doing their best not to cry uncontrollably. As the pastor began to wrap up his introduction, the mother lost it completely, burying her head in the shoulders of her husband.
"...is joining the Army..."
I started tearing up right away.
It was at the end of the school year, and at the end of the service our pastor mentioned that there was someone in our congregation that he wanted to pray for. This was not unusual - a lot of kids were graduating from high school, going on to college or the mission field, and it was common practice to pray for their protection as they left their family (in fact, this was on the heels of news that a missionary from our congregation was imprisoned for preaching the gospel in Malaysia). Our pastor asked a young man to come forward, and as he did, the pastor began explaining what a joy it had been to see this graduating senior grow up from a small age, witnessing his baptism, fostering his leadership within the youth group, playing in the church sports league...and so on.
It's funny now, what I assumed. He described a young man with a heart for God, and I imagined a missionary. He described a leader, and I imagined a pastor. I looked at the parents of this young man, and they were doing their best not to cry uncontrollably. As the pastor began to wrap up his introduction, the mother lost it completely, burying her head in the shoulders of her husband.
"...is joining the Army..."
I started tearing up right away.
Sound like the kind of man we need in our Army. Good on him and God protect him.
I’ve three friends serving in Iraq right now. Chad Moreland, permanently stationed in Mannheim, Germany, is driving Army resupply convoys from Kuwait to Baghdad twice a week. Gary Brewer, a Montana Army National Guard officer, was called to active duty three months ago to help train Iraqi police on the streets of Baghdad. David McMullen, currently a Gunny Sgt in the Marine Corp, is on his second deployment to Iraq; his first was in the initial campaign where he saw combat in Najef, An Nasarija, and Baghdad. All three are in ‘front line’ positions and risk their lives on a daily basis. All three have wives and small children at home. God bless them and protect them, too.
I sympathize with the parents. Hopefully, he won’t see much action and God willing, will live to see peace!
God bless….EVERYONE!
now i lay me down to rest
airborne wings pinned on my chest
you say im wrong, i say im right,
i knew my way on that flight.
terrorize my land, invade we will
protest what you need, we’ll still succeed, oh well oh well
the ones i killed were sent to hell!