The Thanksgiving holiday was an opportunity to take time out to give thanks for all the blessings of my past, the present, and the ones to come. We had a memorial ceremony for the Marines who were killed in Operation Steel Curtain. I can’t think of a better day to celebrate the lives of these young men, and give thanks for their courage and sacrifice. The sun shining, tears running behind sunglasses, and undoubtedly, God was present. Profound and sincere words were shared: life is precious a gift and one’s spirit touches so many in such a short amount of time.
Later that day, I went running with a friend and we shared gratitude lists to pass the time. The first list the people we are grateful for in our lives. The second list gratitude for our bodies. The third list gratitude regarding the deployment. We used the alphabet to guide us. I was amazed at the length of my list, considering many challenges throughout the deployment and homesick many times. After the run, I view my current situation differently. The lists were evident reminders that I am exactly where I need to be. There is such comfort in accepting this perspective.
When I returned from Iraq last year (March 2005) I was uncomfortable overwhelmed with the daily life in the states. The simple life deployment seemed so comforting, safe, and easy. Ironic, considering I spent a significant period of time outside the base, and our base received incoming fire more times than I would like to remember. However, there was a sense of safety in the simple life. After several weeks in the states, I realized it wasn’t the deployment, but the people in my life and the choices I consciously made on a daily basis. I can have a simple life anywhere in the world, and I can ask God for help from anywhere for where I am he is there too.
A chaplain shared with me, “Instead of the simple life, how about a special life.” I came into this second deployment anticipating and expecting the simple life. Unfortunately, I was confronted with everything but the simple life. The chaplain’s words stuck with me. I don’t have control over the daily pressures, demands, and expectations of the world but I do have control over the way I respond. I can make my life as special as I want it’s my choice.
I choose to make today special, giving thanks to you for the gifts you’ve given me.
“He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.” (Romans 14:6)