wfn.org | Commentary: Remember to pray for troop safety this Thanksgiving

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 14, 2003 News media contact: Linda Green7(615) 742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
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NOTE: A head and shoulders photo of Connie D. Rouse is available at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.htm. 

A UMNS Commentary
By Connie D. Rouse*

A few months ago, I sat in a crowded room with the families of marine
personnel who had been, or were going to be, deployed in Iraq. My husband, a
naval reserve chaplain, was holding a briefing for the families. His job,
along with another officer, was to answer questions regarding the condition
of servicemen and women, and to give assurance of available services to them
during the absence of their loved ones. 
 
Shortly into the briefing, families began stating their concerns. One
grandmother was concerned that her grandson would not get his birthday gift
by the actual date. Another mother and father complained that their son's
morale was down because he was still at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and not fighting
in Iraq. The mother stated that since her son was not allowed to have a car,
he was bored and thought that the base should supply shuttle services to the
mall. One mother questioned the exact location of her son because he had not
written back. She had his address, listing only his company. "Where is he?"
she asked. 
 
These people were extremely irritated and I guess, on a normal day, their
concerns would have been valid. But not that day! On that day, we were in a
war, and to me, their concerns seemed so trivial!
 
Sitting next to me was a Vietnam veteran, a former officer in a secret forces
regiment, whose daughter was presently deployed in Iraq. He remarked, "I know
that the chaplain and officer standing there have a job to be nice to the
families, but these people are being unrealistic in their demands. We can't
know everything. This is war! People are going to die and they don't have a
clue!"
 
He wasn't belittling the families, for he and his wife were one of those
families. Yet, sitting there with his prosthesis attached at the hip, he knew
the cost of war. Looking at the leg he lost in battle, he said calmly, "We
just need to pray."
 
Right! The officers were so patient and kind to the families. However, the
kinder they were, the more demanding the families became. They were hurting
and afraid, and had, somehow, obliterated from their minds the horrific
battle that was waging as we spoke.

I had not. I panicked every time my husband got a call from his unit. He was
on alert and I thought that he might be called up for active duty. Even then,
as he stood before us in his camouflage uniform, I could smell the scent of
death. The tight security and barbed wire that now barricaded the usually
relaxed military facility where we met gave a cruel hint of the severity of
this crisis. The cold, harsh images constantly bombarding the screen on CNN
made the brutality of war an apparent reality to me. 
 
I could not feel, as some did, that "gung ho" feeling of "let's go over there
and teach them a lesson." I was still praying desperately for God's
intervention to totally end the war. I wanted my husband, and every other
soldier, here and alive. 
 
As my eyes roamed the room, I looked into the saddened faces of the children.
The adults, so busy complaining, did not notice the fear in their children's
eyes. Birthday gifts and low morale meant nothing. They wanted and needed
hope, hope of one day seeing and holding their parents once again.
 
So, even though I was unfamiliar with protocol and felt sure that the
chaplain's wife should probably not speak, I decided to request permission
anyway. It was granted.
 
After telling the families how much I empathized with them, and thanking them
for their loved ones who were placing their lives on the line for my
protection and freedom, I shared personal thoughts. 

I told the grandmother that it would be a blessing if her son actually
received his gift an entire year late because that meant that he was still
alive a year later and by then, the war might be over. I told the concerned
parents that their son might be better off bored at the base than fighting on
some mine field in Iraq. Then, I reminded the other mother that her son had
gone off to war, not college.

I asked the Vietnam veteran to share his story. Afterwards, I told them that
we needed to pray that God would end this war swiftly and bring our troops
home safely. The war is formally over, but there are still service men and
women deployed abroad in dangerous areas. 

So, this Thanksgiving, as we sit at our tables, enjoying our freedoms,
feasting on our turkeys and hams, complaining about President Bush and
whether or not the war was justified, or the Democratic debates, or whether
or not we'll have enough money to sinfully "buy Christmas" for our children,
remember to pray for the soldiers who are still in some faraway land trying
to establish peace. 

Let us pray that we may remember the hundreds of men and women who died this
year in battle. Pray for the children who will never get the opportunity to
grow up in the loving arms of the parents who gave their lives so that we
might have that freedom to sit at the table this Thanksgiving and complain.

If we continually pray, God will "hear our prayer and pay attention."

Let us come into His courts with thanksgiving and praise, for regardless of
our situations, we are blessed.

"Thanks be to God." 
# # #

*Rouse is a free-lance writer, columnist for the South Carolina United
Methodist Advocate and member of Disciples United Methodist Church in
Greenville, S.C.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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