Back on the Path

A follow-up visit to the doctor last week revealed that my blood pressure had spiked! A feast at a Chinese buffet restaurant the day before may have contributed to that, as may have medication for my poison ivy reaction, but the number was high enough that it startled my new doctor and me both. He ordered some tests and I resolved to return to walking and running with fierce devotion. I enjoy walking and running, but I had allowed other worthwhile activities to crowd exercise out of my schedule. I marked about a route of just more than three miles and traversed it four times so far this week.Yesterday (two days after my poison ivy medicine ran out), I took my blood pressure and discovered a much, much healthier reading, but I have resolved to maintain the walking. Another thought that registered in my mind was how easily the good gets crowded out of our schedules and our minds. It's far too easy to find oneself engulfed in society's outrage over politics or celebrity behavior or climate change or what ever is the outrage of the week without submitting our minds to the disciplined guidance of God's Word and prayer. As I have returned to walking, I also have redoubled my attention to maintaining regular reading of the Bible and serious popular literature (the latter to help me keep attuned to reflection on what is going on around me). I feel some new aches and pains as muscles little-used in recent months are pressed back into service, but I also sens a revival of optimism and hope as I discipline myself and follow the light of god's Word and stay on track in my exercise regimen. The psalmist wrote, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path"(Psalm 119:105). AS we stay on the path and follow the light, we find courage and comfort fur our souls.

Preparing for Disaster

I return after an absence of several eventful months. My chaplain ministry continues to give me opportunities to serve those who give themselves to serve others. At the same time, I hope for opportunity to serve more. The rough draft of my book on prayer nears completion even as I intensify my search for preaching and teaching opportunities. This last week I was reinvigorated by hearing speakers discuss preparation for and ministry to people overcome by natural disasters. Illness and unexpected loss of a house or business damages one's spirit. One survives the storm through prayerful preparation, attributing proper value to material possessions, and by having the right amount of insurance. Insurance may be flood, fire, or earthquake related; it also can be soul-directed when one evaluates his or her relationship with God and acts to improve it. 1 Peter chapter three describes how Noah survived a world-wide flood and compares it to Christians being saved through baptism that confesses one's allegiance to God and faith that realizes the implications of Christ's resurrection from the dead.

Veterans Day A Year After Deployment

Veterans Day this year is much different for me. A year has passed since my return from Afghanistan. The picture was taken near the time of my departure. My replacement and I posed on the steps of our office building for the picture. When I arrived there, I had a vision for my ministry. I accomplished that mission with the help of a gifted and highly experience Chaplain Assistant. Randy had been there before. He had a sense of what was safe in planning our travels that I admired. We worked with Chaplains from other branches of our nation's military and Chaplains from Coalition Forces allied with us as well in providing religious support to brave men and women who had traveled thousands of miles from home. That responsibility for training many of those Chaplains and counseling those men and women helped me grow as a leader. I returned to a different world. Going from monitoring a large number of diverse worship services, preaching two to four times a week, teaching and training, planning with a highly skilled group of fellow staff officers every day to trying to explain that leadership experience to potential employers whose concept of I did there is much simpler than what actually happened has been difficult. I have maintained the running regimen I followed in Afghanistan. Running has made the transition easier. Writing a book has also helped (It's almost ready.). Singing and Bible study in a congregational setting has kept me spiritually balanced also. My wife's support has been phenomenal. Veterans return from their war experiences transformed. Some are scarred; all have changed. We all need prayers, love, and occasionally help in reintegrating. So on Veterans Day, express your gratitude. It helps the veteran to hear someone say, "Thank you." But also search for a concrete way you can help a veteran succeed in the next chapter of their story.

The Lessons of Memorials

Memorials remind us of what we value. They preserve memories of heroes or moments that changed history. This past week I ran on a trail alongside the Potomac River. As I ran, I could see the dome of the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson Memorial on the side of the river. George Washington's courage and dedication to his people still resonate today. Jefferson's writings still inspire. I walked the halls of a building whose walls feature paintings and plaques that describe heroic acts by American military personnel. I stood in a room and read the names of men and women who died suddenly as a terrorist-piloted airplane plowed through that building at that very spot. That tragedy and other similar events the same day shocked our nation and changed our attitudes toward liberty and security. The memorial, however, speaks to the loss of human beings who were dearly loved and highly valued by their co-workers and families. I said a prayer for those families as I stood there. These memorials challenge me to treasure each day and to use those days more wisely. They tell stories of pain and terrorism overcome by courageous acts and a determined spirit. They remind that tragedy scars the soul even as it strengthens the survivor. Our decisions and our actions lay foundation for memorials to our lives. What lessons will your memorial teach?