The High Cost of War

Again the tragic circumstances of war were illuminated for me last night. I spoke with a friend via phone for over an hour. He was in my unit in Iraq five years ago. He is a real go-getter, a type A personality to the hilt, someone you can count on to do exactly what he says he will do. He also expected the same of others. He is a hard man, but a good man.

He just received a "Dear John" email. A couple of decades of marriage that appear on the brink now. And this at a time when he is experiencing a renaissance of sorts in his own life, finding a closer relationship with God and learning all of the things he had missed about what makes a good marriage, what makes a good man, what makes a Godly man.

You can imagine being 8,000 miles away from home, completely out of control of those things on the homefront - or can you? Then get a letter like that. It takes the wind out of the sales. Soldiers have expressed that it's like a kick to the gut that just doesn't go away. So much remains unresolved until they can get home - but the mission must come first. The Army is a jealous first wife.

Please keep my friend in your prayers. He is at the start of a very difficult journey. However, it can be a very rewarding one, if he stays the course and trusts in God's power to overcome, to restore, to deliver.

And thank you, Cheri, my love, for being the best wife a man could have hoped for. I owe you much. You are an amazing woman and I'll never understand why God blessed me with you, except that He is a good God who loves to give good things to His children. I pray I will one day be able to return all of the beauty you've brought to my life. (I may even start washing dishes more when I get home.) I love you, Babe.