Yesterday, I was blessed to be able to sit with a dozen veterans and just listen to them talk. Mostly talking amongst themselves. But every now and then, talking with me. When we were done with the meeting, two of them and I were able to sit with a woman for an interview on her radio program. She wanted to hear our stories. Our story about Charlie 22 Outdoors being founded. And their stories for the military. It took a little over three hours to do this. But it was amazing.
As I was sitting there listening to them talk about their personal experiences in the military, I kept seeing a common theme. Whether they were in Vietnam, or Afghanistan, didn’t matter. What they experienced was very real to them. What they experienced has led to dark moments. It has led to PTSD. Anxiety. Suicidal thoughts. And more. I’m sure, that most of the veterans that we serve probably can relate. Especially those that have been in combat. Male and female. Hearing the stories is very humbling to me. Hearing them puts a whole new perspective on how I view them personally. My respect for them has always been there. But, my gratitude for them continues to increase.
War is not pretty. It is a very dark moment. It’s a very dark time. Dark things happen. I would never understand this, because I have never been there. So I don’t pretend like I know what it’s like. None of us that have never been there should think we understand. There’s no way we can. The countless battles they were in. The blood shed that they saw. The friends that they lost. War can take its toll on people. and I’m not just talking about the deaths. One of the things that my wife brought back from this last weekend was this statement: “It takes many battles to win a war.” That was not something being told to soldiers. It was being told to civilian females. The whole point of it was, that life is going to be like a war. Every day is a battle. Just as our soldiers fighting war. It takes many battles to win. Our daily lives are like this. We battle Satan every day. He is after us. He wants us. But let’s remember this, Jesus won the war for us. He declared victory years ago. Let’s battle every day knowing this. Let’s battle Satan, knowing that with Jesus, we win!
