Dear God, please help me to listen to others, discern their needs, identify how certain needs can be met, and then take decisive action to help meet those needs.
“A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.” (Proverbs 24:5–6)
November 13
ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE
Surface-to-air fire was a part of army aviation during the Iraq War. That was just another aspect of flying. There were times when small arms or rockets were used against us. A lot of the time the enemy was firing rockets blindly at the sound. I remember we were concerned early on about people shining headlights up at us.
I do remember one episode about six miles south of Baghdad. We were flying south. It was a flight of two CH-47 Chinooks. I was in the trail bird. In the back of the lead bird there appeared to be a column of smoke. We looked down and it looked like there was someone firing a roman candle at us from the ground. And then all of a sudden it dawned on us that it was anti-aircraft fire, and then the streaks of light began coming at us. We just had never seen anti-craft fire before. The pilot did something with a helicopter I didn’t know the helicopter could do, and we began to move away. At the same time he started yelling over the intercom system to return fire. The first Chinook began to put down fire as well and within a few seconds the anti-aircraft fire stopped. There were never too many dull moments.
War is not a safe environment, but to worry about the outcome of combat will only create an ineffective soldier. Whether by firefight or random indirect fire, life can end in a moment. If you thought about it too much you might wander at night whether you would wake up or not. The only way to be sane was to understand your faith is in the Lord and you would lie down in peace then whatever would happen would be his will. You had to accept that. And not so much that you had to accept it but that you needed to accept it with joy.
It was an aspect of duty. You will not add one second to your life doing anything differently. God is sovereign. Those of us who understood that then could more effectively perform our duties. It was an essential philosophy of Stonewall Jackson.
Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. Captain, that is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.
Speaking to Captain John D. Imboden (24 July 1861), as quoted in Stonewall Jackson as Military Commander (2000) by John Selby, 25.
Dear God, I know you already know the day I will die. May I live boldly and courageously, never shirking back when duty calls.
“Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.” (2 Samuel 10:12)
November 14
HELPING THE IRAQIS FACE LIFE
We all face death. It comes without warning for most. Life can be over in a second. What some would call a misstep or an accident can also be described as a circumstance that is under God’s complete control. We are truly frail creatures. We are built in a complex way, and we try to understand the process of life and death. The only way that I understand it is to see that we are walking miracles. From the time of conception until we die it’s a miracle of grace and mercy. The body is so complex a creation that only one thing going wrong inside will affect the whole system and put a person out of commission.
When something sudden happens, most of the world would say you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would say that you are at the exact place at the right time and right place. That’s my understanding of God’s sovereignty. We’re so dependent upon the Lord’s good pleasure. Like the grass, we are here one day and gone the next. Ecclesiastes 1:2, “Everything is vanity.” The next second we could be gone, but you cannot dwell on that. If you do then you couldn’t live.
The Iraqi people understood this. They were in many ways like any other people. They were family oriented and generally lived amongst family. We met with the sheik of the local village. He was a true leader. The people welcomed us into their homes and shared what they had with us generously. They were very clean and polite. They were quite hospitable, and their kindness always appeared to be genuine. They were interested in what we could do to help them not to line their pockets but to help their community and their children.
We worked to help them in many ways. We had been bringing medical and nonperishable supplies and providing labor to restore a local clinic. One of the things that struck me when we went into schools was that the girls were afraid of us at first. The boys were not afraid of anything. The girls didn’t really know what to make of us. The teachers had to let them know that we were not there to cause them any harm. We were there to help them and give them school supplies. It was one of the more human things we did. To reach out and help the Iraqi people in very real and practical ways was important. It allowed us to experience the sincere appreciation of the people.
Dear Lord, may you help our country’s soldiers to act righteously in Iraq and Afghanistan. Please use their righteous acts to lead many Muslims to see your good hand in their lives. May they give you praise.
“Consider the voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous acts of his warriors.” (Judges 5:11)
November 15
DEVELOPING MY FAITH
It has been said that war is a mix between short moments of excitement and long periods of boredom. You had to have discipline and a plan for the “down time.” There are always books to read or exercise. When you go to war you should have a plan for what to do with that extra time. Reading through the Bible or studying the Bible is a wonderful way to do this. The Officer Christian Fellowship program (http://www.ocfusa.org/) or other Bible study tools are wonderful for this purpose as well.
I would sit down at the computer and type out the passage of scripture I was studying, and I would comment on it and send it by email to my sons. I felt connected to them when I sent my thoughts on Scripture. I felt like I was still leading my family from afar.
One of the verses that always hit me while I was there was Isaiah 40:31: “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and
