Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.”

• 2 Samuel 21:15-17

I did not write a normally scheduled post about Veteran’s Day today, so I’m adding an extra post.

At the place where I last worked, there were quite a few veterans. But one year I noticed something strange, but then is it strange that only the veterans encouraged and bolstered up the other veterans that day. If you waited for anyone who was not a veteran to say something, you would never hear or see anything.

The Wounded Warrior project is for post-9/11 veterans, and they need help. But there are veterans from other wars that still have problems.

It’s funny. I had four years of ROTC, but I can only remember things from my senior year, when we talked about the non-military side of things. One of our discussions was that the Army was very good at taking a farmer who would never hurt a fly and turning him into a shoot-first, ask-questions-later killer of men. The Army was lousy at turning that killer that they created back into a farmer. The suicide rate is far too high. One suicide is too many. Trusting in God’s ability to forgive even the worst of sins is the answer, that and good therapy. There is a lot of therapy available, but is it good therapy?

The Scripture is the last battle that King David fought. His reaction time was slow, and his men told him to never enter the battle again.

As such, war is for the young. Even the grizzled veteran soldier that keeps the younger guys in line is only just approaching middle age.

The problem is that once you get out of military service, if you have problems adjusting, that affects half of your life expectancy or more.

So, my wish for all veterans out there is that they have a HAPPY Veterans’ Day. Be happy that you made it home, and learn how to overcome survivor guilt.

And for all those who enjoy their freedom and the liberties in a free nation, remember that those liberties came at a cost. Thank a veteran.

And in the end, it was a catholic priest (chaplain) on Bataan who said that there were no atheists in foxholes. That may not be the case today, but God is the answer. Lay your burdens at the foot of the cross. God is a lot better equipped to carry them than we are.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.