The Online Chaplain

Excerpt from Guidepost

"The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his
people with peace.  Psalms 29:11"


  A bible is stuffed with prayers and notes and clippings that  encourage me. One clipping quotes a letter from a Civil War officer to his  beloved wife. He desperately hoped that he would return to her and their sons unharmed. But, "If I do not, my dear Sarah, when my last breath escapes me it will whisper your name. I shall always be near you, in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights. And if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath. Do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again." The soldier, Major Sullivan Ballou, was killed in the Battle of Bull Run seven days after writing the letter....

Around the world, night and day, those in the armed forces stand watch for us. Oh, blessed Lord, be their strength, their courage, their protector and their shield. For those who have endured, who still serve in hospitals and on the battlefield of their own daily lives, be their peace, their comfort and their hope.

By Fay Angus

First Lost Tooth

On Sunday, my youngest lost his first tooth.  Thankfully, not in a fist fight at Sunday school, but by natural causes.  The potential for how he lost his first tooth always had a wide range of possibility.  It could have been a fist fight, falling out of a tree, or reasonable retaliation from one of siblings – anything.  Me, I’m grateful for natural causes.

God sometimes uses the craziest things to remind you he cares.  This week – my little guys lost tooth.  You see, at our house I am in charge of tooth extraction.  I have guided three crying, scared little people through their first encounter with the tooth fairy.  This should have been the fourth.  But, the moment came and went and adds itself to a long list of things soldiers miss, and others take for granted. 

Listen to these summaries from the lives of fellow soldiers.  Your daughter has emergency surgery and you are not there to hold her hand.  The birth of your first born went well, but you will have to take every ones word for it, your not there.  You celebrated your wedding anniversary by doing an extra hour of PT and your wife goes out with girl friends.  Your son spends a few days in the hospital and you miss the opportunity to help.  Your first grader got on the bus for the first day of school with only one parent standing in the drive way.  Peers at work got the promotion and your career is on hold.  Fellow college students started their third year college while your still working to finish the first because of back to back deployments.  Harvest started, duck season is reported to be better than ever, deer season is right around the corner, and your buddies toasted you last time they were at the American Legion.    In a nut shell…you are missing a lot and all the optimism in the world doesn’t change this.

As I thought about this today I remembered these words of Jesus, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  Even though we are missing much of the things that give us life we are still under God’s care, so are our families.

I wasn’t there for the big tooth pull, but God was.  I didn’t see him off for his first day of first grade, but it all happened under God’s watchful eye.  As father, you did not supervise the birth of your firstborn, but our heavenly father never left your family’s side.  You are doing your duty and extra PT instead of college courses and anniversaries and you wonder if anyone cares, God cares. 

Soldiers listen up.  You are six thousand miles away from your loved ones and the people and places that give you strength.  But, you are not outside of the care of God.  Families back home hear the good word!  Six thousand miles separate you from the soldier you care about, and God understands your every anxiety.  You matter!  God Cares!  This won’t last forever.  Hang on.

Great Article: Daddy is Coming Home

09/28/2006 Daddy Is Coming Home! Daddy is coming home! That's what dozens of children in Yankton are saying as they prepare for the much anticipated arrival of Charlie Battery. The National Guard unit has spent the past year fighting the war in Iraq. While a parade and welcome home ceremony are planned for this Saturday, preparations for their return have been underway for weeks. These are the Fall colors in Yankton. Red, White, Blue and yellow, lots of yellow. The town is decked out, ready to welcome home soldiers.

4th grader Callie Pospishil can barely contain herself. "I'm very excited," said Pospishil. Callie's dad is a member of Charlie Battery. She hasn't seen him in quite awhile, but knows it won't be long now. "Only two more days." But it's not just Callie who is excited. Volunteers have been decorating the town in yellow ribbons, so many that you can't find yellow ribbons anymore. "We went to at least five different stores, okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but we went to a lot of stores," said Pospishil. On nearly every tree, fence and pole in Yankton, patriotic pride flies high. The yellow ribbons have helped hold this community together. "We cleaned out Yankton and got more in Sioux Falls."

Gary Wood is one of 200 volunteers who are making sure Charlie Battery gets the welcome home they deserve. "They believed in their mission and are proud of what they've done and proud to represent Yankton and the United States," said Wood. The unit lost four of its members by roadside bombs. Wood says Saturday will be a bittersweet homecoming with lots of emotion. "I don't think there will be enough kleenex in town to handle it. I think it's going to be very emotional , lots of tears, of joy and sadness," said Wood. Tears Callie will share with her dad. "I am going to hug him," said Pospishil.

Charlie Battery will arrive at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport at 12:35 Saturday afternoon. From there, the soldiers will be bussed to Yankton. A parade to honor them starts at 3:30 and after that, the Official Welcome Home Ceremony will be held at the Yankton Summit Activities Center.

Don Jorgensen © 2006 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

Leaving

I haven’t written much lately, as you all well know.  Frankly, I lost my voice for a while.  The strain of separation from my family and now our country sucked the creative juices right out of my body.  There simply wasn’t a sentence left in me.  The four day pass with my family was one of the best times of my life.  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but I wouldn’t go through it again for anything.  That might seem strange to those of you who have not been to war, or who are not an army family.  But, for those of us who wear the uniform it makes perfect sense. 

When I took my family to New Orleans to fly back home a compassionate United worker let me walk them to the concourse.  Bitter/sweet moments!  After they left, the walk to my car was the “green mile.”  I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of there at all without loosing my lunch.  My whole life and all that is important to me got on that airplane, and when it flew north, I was left with only my self and the duty I had been called too.  Returning to Camp Shelby (the camp that is not to be spoken out loud, for you Harry Potter fans) I joined others who held the singular emotion and thought, “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and I wouldn’t go through it again for anything.”  For all of us leaving has become to much a part of our lives.

And now we have left again.  This time we do not only leave our families behind, but our country too.  The days prior as we waited for our units to leave felt like an eternity and I saw evidence of the strain of it everywhere I looked.  It was hard to look anywhere without seeing cell phones out and last calls being made.  Right up to the time we left our last fuel point in the United States Cellular One, Midwest Wireless and T-Mobile were connecting us to our lives before we were forced to shut them off, both our cell phones and in some part our lives.  And so that brings us to today , we are at the first of our “undisclosed locations somewhere in the middle east.”  Soon we will move into Iraq and again we will leave this place that has become comfortable in a strange sort of way. 

It occurs to me leaving is no longer something I do, it is something that has become a part of me.  I am careful to not become to attached to routine and mentally prepare myself in advance for the next transition.  This is not a bad metaphor for a Christian.  In the book of Hebrews the author writes, “They (people of faith) confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, ?14? for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. ?16? But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” Soldiers too, are looking for a homeland.  The battalion I serve is filled with men of faith who realize a truth most folks simply will not embrace.  If we are to have a world where people do not fly planes into innocents then someone must leave to do the work of the soldier.  Hatred can not win the day and it will not go away on its own.  Hatred is self generating and will perpetuate itself when left alone. 

So, soldiers leave their homeland in search of a better country.  We leave in search of a better country where terrorism doesn’t rule the day.  We leave in search of a country where our children need not see images of falling towers and planes.  We go to attack a culture of terror and we pray to God we are doing the right thing.  We could return but we are seeking a better country. 

We have left what is familiar and one day we will do the same when we breathe our last.  The better country, eternal life will be the most completely and thoroughly fulfilling experience of our existence and is waiting for each of us.  When it occurs for us we will not long for the country we have left behind like we do now.  We will embrace the new country as if we were lovers returning to one another.  This country we will never leave.  It’s sweet embrace will define our existence.  Terrorism and things like it, that mark our nights and days will be a distant memory.  The fear we bear for ourselves and our children will not exist and peace will reign eternal.  We will know the embrace of peace and the warmth of hope.  I look forward to the day when I never leave again. 

About Fathers Going to War: A Letter to their Kids

Dear Kids,
I am the chaplain of your dad’s battalion.  There are nearly eight hundred soldiers in our battalion and many of them are dads. So, I would like to tell you about them so you can understand why they are not home.  They are important men and it is my job to tell their story.  A chaplain is kind of like a solider-pastor.  I tell soldiers about God and tell God about soldiers.  So, I spend a lot of time talking about God and praying to God.  It’s a great job and I love what I do. 

The dads of this battalion are a unique group.  They have taught me a lot.  Their country has called upon their strength and they are asked to do things others can’t do.  They are going to war, to another country and into harms way. They go to do their duty and to make sure other men’s children have the privilege to live in peace.  They have been pulled from jobs and families because they are needed and they have come willingly to face a complex task.  And all the while, they would rather be home with you.  They believe in what they are doing, but they are plagued with the fact that duty takes them one place and their heart takes them another.

Make no mistake about it dads are sometime afraid too.  Afraid in the way brave men fear. It is not that life has asked too much of them.  They have strong backs and shoulders and carry the weight of the world, simply because the world asked.  They walk in the shadow of great men who have been called before them to go to war for the sake of peace in the world.  But, nonetheless there is fear.  Fear of asking those they love to bear to great a burden.  Fear that you will not be able to sustain their absence.  Fear that you will make choices in their absence that will bring you pain.  Their concern never rests and no matter what they are doing, you are on their mind.  Though they are absent, they continue to stand at the gate of your life in every way possible, so nothing might harm you and they pray for your welfare.

These men do not fear Iraq, or Al Quadia, combat, insurgents, injury or even death.  But, they fear missing too much.  The thought of weddings, special moments, proms and birthdays breaks their heart and they wonder if the price of their absence is too high.

Yet, in the face of all this they are eternal optimists.  They hope that the sacrifice of today will yield hope for your tomorrows.  They hope they are going to war so that you won’t ever have too.  The world can ask any sacrifice it need of fathers, for the sake of their children.  There is no price to high.  A good father wants nothing but the best for their children.  I have watched a father’s heart swells with pride when they speak about their children and breaks when their children hurt.  A father will go to the end of the earth for the children, even to war. 

There was another father who went to the ends of the earth and war for the sake of his children.  God the Father!  The Bible says, “The word (God through Jesus) became flesh and dwelt (pitched his tent) among us and we beheld his glory…” John 1:14   We hope the journey of the 1st Brigade Combat Team will bring life, peace and hope too.  We hope it will bring this to the Iraqi people, the United States of America and especially we wish this for our children.     Lord, let all of our efforts be for our children and the children of the world that one day they may know peace.

To My Beloved on Valentines Day

Dearest,

Every day for me is Valentine's Day!  The design of Valentine's Day is to, once a year, place in our hearts what should be there all of the time.  I did not need Valentine's Day to do this.  In my heart, everyday, is the image, the taste, the sound, the feel, the very essence of home.  The home I have found in the heart of my beloved, and in the places we have created for one another.  Nothing externally will ever need to remind me of these things.  They are etched upon my soul by the hand of time, patience and enduring love.

I may be a romantic idealist.  But, I hope the path I tread today will in the end protect the places we have created, our home, our children and the dreams of a peaceful future.  Not, just for us, but also for those who are still searching for the dream we share.  I have lived a blessed life, because of you.  And where ever I am today, know, my heart is with you.

@peace,

Your Loving Husband

   

What Six Year Olds Know

At supper one night, weeks after Dad's departure, the family enters their near nightly routine.  First, "what do you suppose dad is doing right now?"  This is followed by comedic speculation.  Then comes the thoughts of a better day, a day the family is already rehearsing.  "What are we going to do when Dad gets home?"  It's a question filled with hope.  We will go to Disney Land, we will take long vacations, we will...  But, not tonight, tonight hope is shattered by the words of a six year old who speaks about the stress no one else dares to speak about.

In innocence, he says, "Dad isn't coming home he's going to get killed in Iraq."  Now, tell me friends, which one of you is a good enough parent to know how to answer this situation.  Standard answers don't apply. 

Standard answer number one is this, "God will take care of daddy."  This answer rings true only in the shadow of eternity.  Ultimately, it is true, but the fact remains that daddy may indeed get killed in Iraq.  And lest you have a six year old blaming God for breaking his promise, you best stay your tongue. 

Standard answer number two fairs no better.  "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to daddy."  Problem is, it might.  It might happen because in war men and women die.  Lying to little children about the reality of it does no one any good.  At age six, this little fella is going to remember he was lied too.

So, lets try this.  Tell him the truth.  Yes, it could happen, but, it probably wont.  Most soldiers come home.  Most soldiers are not injured.  Most will be OK.  Then that night and every night pray for a safe return. 

There are no text book answers for soldier families.  Every step of the path is fraught with experiences we do not know how to deal with.  So, we do the best we can and we hope.  We hope in the midst of chaos, God is watching and caring for those going to battle and for those waiting for us to come home.  We pray the same promises that sustain us will sustain our children.  We pray, we hope, we cry and we push on.