With the ministry, I am blessed to be able to sit with veterans and just listen to them talk. Mostly talking amongst themselves and their life experiences. But every now and then, talking with me. When I am sitting there listening to them talk about their personal experiences in the military, I keep seeing a common theme. Whether they were in Vietnam, Afghanistan, or anywhere else, 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 is 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 is 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 has shared with me in the past is this statement: “It takes many battles to win a war.” And she wasn’t talking about wars between nations. The whole point of it was that life can be like a war. How is that? Every day can be a battle. Just as our soldiers fighting war. It takes many battles to win. Our daily lives are like this. We battle Satan every single day. Every single day! He is after us. He wants us. But let’s remember this, Jesus wants us too. Let’s remember that Jesus won the war for us. He declared victory years ago. Let’s battle every single day knowing this. EVERY! SINGLE! DAY! Let’s battle Satan, knowing that with Jesus, we win!
