Beautifully Broken

Jesus than to quickly and freely forgive. Forgiveness does not mean reinstating all rights and privileges (if you tried to crash my car, I’m probably going to suggest you get on the subway!). What it does mean is that you choose to see the offender the way God sees them: lost and wandering but still very much a child of God. The minute they are ready to come back, we won’t even ask where they’ve been. It’s the choice not be angry and to not let their behavior ruin you. Forgiveness is a spiritual transaction between you and God and is only initiated by the wrongdoing of another sinner. This might be a daily choice for many years, and that’s okay.

5. Work on your inner circle. Your ministry is the people within arm’s length. Build up the people who will stay in the car even when the route doesn’t make sense: your close friends, your spouse, your mentors, the ones who trust you and trust God and trust that you are trusting God. These are the literal “ride-or-dies” in your life, so train them to love you at a deep level. They are also the people who won’t let you get off course.

6. Choose joy. Joy is not being happy-go-lucky, nor is it pretending nothing bad is happening. Joy is gladness not based on circumstances. It is a choice that attracts other humans. It is a choice that does more than keep your head above water. It is a choice that keeps your eyes on the road.

Our point is, your life’s mission will never be to change the hearts of people around you. You can only be the catalyst that points them toward the One who can. Who knows, you might be the reason they start driving their own car and picking their own people up! However, none of this can happen if we are too afraid to get into the car and go.

Our lives thus far have been compiled into these lessons that we were able to piece together in this story. But who knows what they will be next year, next decade, or when we are eighty years old? What we know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that if we truly believe that Christ’s power lives within us, then we have to open our eyes to the excuses we make for not using it. In fact, it’s kind of God’s style to use unlikely and “unworthy” people to carry out His will in extreme circumstances. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you shall prevail.” It doesn’t say they will stop making weapons. So, if weapons are going to continue to form, then let’s all realize that our purpose in Christ is something we will have to fight for. Whether the battle is internal or external, we will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (see Rev. 12:11). It’s the great pairing of John F. Kennedy’s idea that “The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free”³ and the God-breathed design of Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ set us free.” We are released for freedom’s sake, just because God loves us that much. Yet, a revolution, an awakening, must occur for us to look in the mirror and say, “I am more than my bad days, and I will no longer treat my mission like a curse.” We must realize this freedom in order to receive it, protect it, and help give it to other people. That’s why as long as freedom is necessary, the stories and sacrifices required to obtain that freedom will never lose their relevance.

Paige giving Josh his Jump Wings after Airborne School, Fort Benning, GA, May 23, 2010. (1)

Josh and Paige on their wedding day, Fort Payne, AL, December 29, 2010. (2)

Kyle Peters, Josh Wetzel, Jerraid Henderson, Doc, Brent Buffington, March 2012. (3)

Josh in a firefight, April 2012. (4)

Josh in Afghanistan, April 2012. (5)

Josh in Afghanistan, April 2012. (6)

Josh and Cathi in Germany, June 4, 2012. (7)

Josh and Paige reunited at Walter Reed Medical Center, June 5, 2012. (8)

Josh and Paige after first night at Walter Reed Medical Center, June 6, 2012. (9)

Josh and siblings Mason, Kelsi, and Keeli, June 7, 2012. (10)

Josh and Patrick in the ICU, June 2012. (11)

Josh, Paige, Kristie, Cathi, and Patrick pray with President Obama at Walter Reed Medical Center, June 28, 2012. (12)

Josh standing for the first time, August 24, 2012. (13)

Josh and Paige arriving in Glencoe for Homecoming, October 25, 2012. (14)

Josh speaking during his homecoming in Glencoe, AL, October 2012. (15)

Josh standing in front of his unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord when they returned from Afghanistan, November 2012. (16)

Josh and Bill O’Reilly in Building 62, April 2013. (17)

Josh in running legs, April 2013. (18)

Josh, Paige, and Gary Sinise at the Lt. Dan Band Benefit Concert at Walter Reed, May 17, 2013. (19)

Josh and President Obama at the 2013 DC Soldier Ride. (20)

Josh and Andrew Smith on the 2013 Baseball Tour (Toledo Mud Hens Game). (21)

Josh visits Vietnam Wall, August 2013. (22)

Josh, Andrew Smith, Travis Mills, Taylor Morris, and Drew Mullee at the inaugural year of the Travis Mills Foundation, July 2014. (23)

Josh as the honorary co-captain at the Auburn Military Appreciation Game along with Auburn’s Medal of Honor Recipient, CSM Bennie Adkins, November 9, 2014. (24)