Who’s Next?DURING THE firefight the lieutenant seemed to freeze up. Rather than make an issue of it, the CO sent him back to base camp to recover from “extreme exhaustion.” This wasn’t ...
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Who’s Next? DURING THE firefight the lieutenant seemed to freeze up. Rather than make an issue of it, the CO sent him back to base camp to recover from “extreme exhaustion.” This wasn’t stretching the truth, since the whole unit had been in the bush constantly for three months. After a few days of sleep and regular food, the young officer seemed to return to normal. He began, however, to take extreme precautions in his habits. Unlike others in this relatively safe place, he constantly wore his helmet and flak jacket. He didneven sleep on his cot, lying instead on the ground with his flak jacket over him and sandbags around him. One night, after a rare rocket attack on the base, a corpsman found the lieutenant dead in his hut. A piece of shrapnel had somehow found its way past the sandbags and body armor to penetrate his chest. The corpsman who discovered his body concluded: If someone was protected, it was the lieutenant. After that I decided that there was nothing you could do about it. Once you were there, you’re there and who knows who’s going to get it next? Is it ever our time to be “next”? This is a recurring question for every man in combat. I must admit, my answer at the time was about like that of this corpsman. I didn’t think there was much I could do about it, and so I was resigned to my “fate,” whatever that was. Since becoming a Christian, my attitude toward this question has changed totally. I am now confident that God is in control of my life and that I will live as long as it suits his purpose. My prayers and the prayers of others have a role to play in influencing him, and he can alter the outcome of any event and the course of my life as he chooses. I also do what I can to protect myself and try to limit risks. Still, I am always aware of the fact that sooner or later, due to traumatic events or natural causes, the time will come when I will be “next.” From God’s eternal perspective, whether this is sooner or later makes little difference. My hope lies in the knowledge of who I belong to and where I am going. | |
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