Tuesday, August 7, 2007

It's Who I Am

"It's no longer what I'm going to do; it's who I am." Those are the words my husband said to me as he tried to make sense of what he was feeling after watching emergency room footage from a military hospital in Baghdad while in training yesterday. He watched with sadness as doctors, nurses, and medics worked frantically to save the lives of the soldiers who had been wounded and as a chaplain ministered to the living and prayed over the dieing.

There was something in his voice that I'd never heard before. I wouldn't say it was fear, more like he KNEW God was preparing him for something he's never even come close to experiencing before. He was hurting for one chaplain sitting behind him who had lost his brother in the war in Iraq last year. It's very sobering to hear him talk about it. I can't even imagine what it was like in that room, but he said it was deathly silent as they went on break.

I know had I not been at work I would have sobbed uncontrollably. I don't fear what God has planned for our lives, I only pray for strength. For my husband, I pray that the Lord will always protect him; not only physically, but mentally and spiritually. I pray He will be used mightily in the lives of many soldiers and that God will direct his path. I pray for the soldiers and what they are facing daily as this war goes on, as well as the chaplains who are ministering to them. I hope people everywhere are praying for them and supporting them. Whether or not you agree with the war is beside the point. We should ALL be praying for and supporting our soldiers!!

2 comments:

Jen R. said...

Powerful post...thanks. I am still discerning my call to chaplaincy, and posts like yours definitely give me pause and things to pray for.

Paulette said...

I can only imagine some of the things Kevin will have to deal with in his new adventure, he will have plenty of prayer support and an awesome wife to come home too. He is a lucky man!

Psalm 37:5-6
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

I am praying for you all as you prepare to leave.