A Praying Mom

It’s not unusual for a pastor’s phone to ring in the middle of the night. Being a relatively light sleeper, I was reaching for the light when the phone rang this morning just before 5:00 a.m. I was not surprised that my wife had the phone in hand before the second ring. What a joyful surprise it is to awaken to the sound of your son’s voice some 12,000 miles away. Our son is blessed with a wonderful sense of humor and a very positive attitude. It’s that sense of humor, positive attitude, and a strong faith in God that sustains him day in and day out during this deployment. After hanging up the phone we replayed that conversation in our minds and to each other. Just before we turned the lights out for a few more minutes of sleep, my wife said, “I woke up about 3:00 a.m. and I prayed for our son before going back to sleep.”

As the room grew dark my mind drifted back to the little orange printed page tucked away in my wife’s Bible entitled, “A Mother’s Prayer For Her Marine.” The prayer goes like this:

"God, Father of Freedom, look after that boy of mine, wherever he may be. Walk in upon him. Keep his mind stayed on Thee. Talk with him during the silent watches of the night, and spur him to bravery whenever called upon to face the cruel foe. Transfer my prayer to his heart, that he may know the lingering love I have bequeathed to him as an everlasting gift.

"Keep my boy contented and inspired by the never-dying faith in his mother’s God. He is my gift to freedom. May that freedom forever remain untarnished, God. Through the lonely and confusing hours of training and combat, and throughout all the long days of a hopeful victory, keep his spirit high and his purpose unwavering. Make him a proud pal to all with whom he comes in contact and make his influence a noonday light wherever his duty takes him. Satisfy the hunger of his soul with the knowledge of this daily prayer of mine.

"To my country, and to world freedom, O Heavenly Father, have I bequeathed this boy of mine. He is my choicest treasure. Take care of him, God. Keep him in health and sustain him under every possible circumstance of events. Warm him anew under his shelter and under the stars. Touch him with my smile of cheer and comfort and my full confidence in his every brave pursuit.

"Silent and alone, I pray, God, but I am only one of millions of mothers, whose prayers stream day and night to You. This is our Gethsemane. Lead us victoriously through it, God. And lead that boy of mine through his. Fail him not ... and may he not fail You, his country, nor his mother. Thank you, God." (Courtesy of Leatherneck Magazine)

Our son is blessed to have so many people praying for him during the difficult days of this deployment. He is especially blessed to have a praying Mom!

Semper Fi

He Cares For Us

October has proven to be the deadliest month for American troops in Iraq this year. I guess there are at least a couple of reasons for the increased attacks. This has been the month-long celebration of Ramadan. The terrorists believe they are especially close to Allah and have greater reward by taking the life of an American serviceman during this time. Quite possibly they also believe an elevated casualty count will influence our November elections. That sure makes a parent uneasy when you know your son is out in the field or patrolling some city street and you haven’t heard from him in several days.

My desire was and still is that this Blog not become a platform for political beliefs. My intent is to simply share my thoughts and fears along one of life’s difficult journeys.

Worry – yes I’ve done my share (and probably will until I see his boots touch American soil). I know we serve a great God who is all powerful, who hears and answers our prayers. I am constantly reminded of one of my favorite verses. First Peter 5:7 simply says, “Casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you.” I’m trying to do that more diligently.

I recently read something that said, “Worry will eat your lunch! It will eat your breakfast and dinner, too!” I’m trying to remember that when I worry about tomorrow. Worry brings tomorrow’s difficulties into today. There are two days I can do nothing about…yesterday and tomorrow. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. So I have to live right now, knowing He’s still on the throne. He has promised that if I draw close to Him, He reciprocates and draws close to me.

Oh, by the way, my fear about this last day of Ramadan has just been laid to rest. Our son called a little while ago. He’s back at his forward operating base for several hours. He’s well, has had a hot meal and a shower, and was talking about the puppy named Omar his platoon has adopted. God is good!

Semper Fi!

A Life Lesson From Barney Fife

I am so grateful to the Baptist Courier for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you concerning our son’s deployment to Iraq. When approached about this possibility, my mind drifted back to an old episode of the “Andy Griffith Show.” In this particular show Deputy Barney Fife had the bright idea of rehabilitating Otis, the town drunk. He was trying to involve Otis in some sort of craft project. Andy came in and asked why he had Otis doing that craft. Barney stated that it would be ther-i-pedic. Well that was the wrong word but right concept. It’s very helpful to stay busy and do something meaningful. I’ve found that during the course of the last 42 days, my fears and concerns have been countered by our prayers, the prayers of fellow believers and the promises of a loving heavenly Father. As a matter of fact, the Bible reminds more times than the number of days our son will be in Iraq that we are not to fear. To read the promises of God and receive the encouragement of Christian friends is ther-i-pedic.

I still struggle with the issue of watching the news or not. It seems that most of the reports I hear coming out of Iraq are negative. It’s very easy to be pulled into a state of despair by some reporter who seems to delight in making news instead of reporting the news. Over the weekend I gave in to the urge to read some online news stories and found myself reading an article about how the President of Iran had called for intensified violence against American troops with the hopes of influencing the November elections in the U.S. The phase “feeling low” doesn’t adequately describe what we were experiencing. But God is good! We received a phone call from our oldest son. He had just gotten a call from our Marine and he was well. As a matter of fact they had a very successful week in diminishing the power of a particular terrorist cell in their area. There’s that still small voice again that said, “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I know the plans I have for you and they are to prosper you and not harm you.”

On and on I could go, but the encouragement of our network of Christian family and friends and our Sovereign God has a way of rehabilitating our fallen spirits better than Barney could rehabilitate Otis!

Semper Fi!

Our Omniscient God

Two days before Operation Desert Storm (1991) the Marines on the Saudi side of the border were preparing themselves for the coming assault to drive the Iraqis from Kuwait. The Marines had been waiting in the desert for 6 months preparing for what was about to occur. They had endured the artillery strikes, Scud missiles, and the boredom of waiting for the order to go. Across the desert from the Marines lay Iraqi mines and booby traps, flaming oilfields and at least a half million Iraqi Republican Guard soldiers.

Minutes after they received orders to pack up and move out it began to rain on one particular Marine battalion. The rain was unusual for this desert area. It continued raining and was wet and overcast during the final 36 hours before they assault. Some made the comment that the battalion was doomed or at least it was very unlucky. Would their vehicles function properly? Would their vehicles get stuck or bogged down? Was God trying to send them a warning? The answer came as they received orders to move out in their assault. The rain clouds parted as they headed out. Immediately across the border in Iraq they discovered a half-mile wide field of shiny disks, laid out in an irregular pattern and glimmering in the morning sunlight. The heavy rains had uncovered an Iraqi minefield.

For the last five weeks, every day seems like a thunderstorm overcast with doubt, fear, anxiety, uncertainty and tears. But I must constantly remind myself that just like the story above, God may be trying to uncover things in my life that are detrimental. I’m thankful that our Father is an all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful God. Our God is faithful!

Semper Fi!

Fear: The Enemy I Battle

Are you ever afraid? For the last couple of months fear is an enemy I have constantly battled. Fear is one of the most debilitating emotions we face. Last week our son called to say his company was going out on a mission. He stated that he would not be able to call for several days. We calculated when we thought the next phone call might come. As that anticipated time passed and turned into a couple of days, an uneasy feeling began to well up inside of us. I’ll just have to confess we were afraid something had gone wrong. I received a phone call from a new friend in a mid-western state and he asked had I heard about the casualties? I had not. I immediately got on the internet and found the report of two young Marines killed in Iraq. They were in our son’s battalion. The question looming on my mind, was it his company or another company? Was it in his area of operation or some distance away?

I’ll be honest, fear has a way of doing a number on you. But that’s to be expected. On Saturday I told my wife I was going out to cut the grass. In reality the grass didn’t need cutting as much as I needed to cut the grass. While riding that lawnmower, even over the roar of the engine, I heard the still small voice of God say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” I felt pretty weak at that time. Then I realized that with fear our options are limited. We can panic, we can be paralyzed or we can pray. We continue to choose the third option. I realized (once again) on that lawnmower, there’s no panic in heaven, only plans. I cannot afford to be paralyzed so I must pray!

Finally the long awaited call came as I was walking out the hospital Monday morning after visiting a church member. It was our son and he was well. Unfortunately, the two Marines who died as a result of an I.E.D. (Improvised Explosive Device) as it detonated under their vehicle were in our son’s company and they were several hundred yards in front of our son. The face of Satanic evil has again shown itself to be real. We mourn the loss of these two young heroes and ask God to bless their families!

Once again that still small voice of God reminded me, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

What is the opposite of fear? You guessed it ... FAITH! Yes, the promises of our God are sufficient in our times of need.

Semper Fi!

Uncharted Territory

For four weeks, our family has been walking in uncharted territory. Our son recently deployed with the United States Marine Corps in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I use the term “uncharted” because this is a new experience for our family. For the first three years of his enlistment, he has been stationed within 450 miles of home. Now we find ourselves in a new situation with him more than 12,000 miles away from home. Thanks to the Baptist Courier for their vision and their desire to enhance “The Courier” with an online version. We have joined together in this endeavor to launch a new Weblog entitled “A Marine Dad.”

I eagerly accepted this invitation because I see it as a way to express my feelings about the emotional rollercoaster we’ve been on for the last several weeks. My intent for these postings can best be expressed by paraphrasing the often-quoted statement of Rick Warren, “It’s not about me or us. It’s all about Him.” I would want to be honest and transparent in sharing our struggles, our hopes, our fears, our mountains and valleys. I have asked God to make this period of deployment a “teachable time” as we draw close to Him and rely upon Him daily as never before.

I want to invite you to take this journey with us. We welcome your comments along the way. Most of all we covet your prayers for our son and the men in his company. The Marine Corp motto is “Semper Fidelis.” Semper Fidelis is Latin for always faithful. Faithful to God, Country, Family and to the Corps. May God find us faithful in this new endeavor and all that we do for the Kingdom!