The Devil Lashes Out

It has now been four days since I last made an entry. Much has happened in those four days - a whirlwind of activity. While still having to perform three days of Funeral Honors duty, I was informed on Thursday that one of our soldiers had committed suicide. Talk about wind from the sails... As the unit chaplain I had to jump to action, blessed to be of service, but always saddened that my services in this area is needed.

Thursday evening was the visit to the spouse of the deceased - always a grim occasion. Unfortunately, she had been the one to find her husband dead. So, while there was no notification, it was our solemn duty to try to get benefits underway while providing as much comfort to her as possible. These visits are never easy, especially when you become convinced that there is no eternal perspective in the household.

Needless to say, with much left to do over the weekend, I had little time to breathe. Mornings were spent less in devotional time and more in panicked prayers that God would provide all the unit needed to conduct a proper memorial and that I would have all I need to be able to correctly and graciously handle the inevitable questions about suicide and the many requests for counseling.

So, with a suicide prevention class prescheduled for our Saturday and now three services to complete on Sunday (morning chapel for drill, the afternoon memorial and my normal evening church service), I was swamped. God did provide. While I was unable to maintain any kind of focus at 5am, and often spent more time sleeping than praying - and once just slept until 6 or so - I found God in the spaces between.

Needless to say, at the end of myself, all of the services went much better than any of the normal services I prepare during a normal week. In my weakness, He is strong. His grace is sufficient for me, for His power is made perfect in my frailty. Praise, Honor and Glory to God, who takes this feable flesh and does things far beyond what I would ask or imagine. The race is not given to the swift or the strong... and I wish that our young sergeant would have known of these verses, for he would have known that to win is simply to persevere.