Learning to Trust

How special is each day that we live?

Deployment is essentially like the movie “Groundhog Day” except it’s less fun because there ARE consequences for what you did yesterday.  But one thing I’ve learned is that I’m best off letting go of any negative that may have happened during the day.  Call it selective memories so to speak.  Granted you need to remember enough to ensure that you learn from mistakes you make…but beyond that, I just let it go.  I take almost nothing personally.

While I appreciate routine, I’ve tried to do things to make it seem like time is indeed passing and we are all moving closer to going home.  The most simple thing I do is manage our “countdown calendar” as well as the paper chain that we have going (with instructions to tear one link per day, preferably with meals).  I’ve also mentioned the “animals” that I draw on each day of the monthly calendar.  This is actually very fun for me…because any time there’s a dull moment in the clinic I can blurt out…TODAY IS DINOSAUR DAY!  Everyone in the clinic knows what I mean.  It confuses some of the patients at first, but most of them laugh and eventually suggest an animal for another day.  Simple and yet effective!

As much as I miss my family and friends (and as much as I am not a fan of Afghanistan), being here has taught me a lot.  I find myself challenged daily in my job, my outlook, my world view, my relationship with other people, with God...

I feel like I am standing on my own two feet like I never have before, and yet I also know that I am relying on God more than I ever have.  Deployment experiences are vastly different based on location and command.  For some here, it has been the worst experience of their lives!  There are a lot of reasons for that, some of which I completely understand and others that are likely more hidden from my view…but bottom line, this is how life is, is it not?

I’m kind of a fan of Donald Miller, author of many good books…but the one that comes to mind is “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” in which he outlines what makes a good story.  He argues that the same elements of a good story also make a “good life.”  Those elements are primarily 1) a character (that’s you) 2) the character wants something (must be something meaningful) and 3) the character has to overcome conflict to get it (characters don’t voluntarily change…it’s overcoming conflict that MAKES the character change or “transform.”  This is pretty much the basis of every story you’ve read or movie you’ve seen…and yet in our own lives we go out of our way to avoid as much conflict as possible.

But why not set your sights on something worthwhile that will be difficult to attain?  There’s always the chance that you could fail, but if you let just the thought of failure stop you, you’ll never do anything!  That’s a pretty boring existence I think.  So anyway, all I’m saying is CONSIDER it.  Consider what your life might look like if someone wrote a book about you.  Did you overcome any conflict?  How did you handle the difficult times?  What did you learn?  How did it make you better?

How special is each day that you live?  Each day for me is a special reminder – that I don’t always get what I want, but I will always get from the Lord what I need.  I am blessed and I am grateful.  Now to overcome some conflict!