A Lesson from our son Tim, in Iraq.
Ephesians 5:15 & 16 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Whatever Pastor Ron may have been teaching last Sunday caused Tom's mind to wander back a few weeks to a phone call from Tim. All that Tim shared with Dad was probably not meant for Mom to know. But as a lesson from the Lord, it is something I will never forget.
August 24th, 2007 is a date I will always remember, not only is it grandson number four, Levi Timothy's birth date. But, I believe it is also that night which was particularly difficult for Tim in Iraq. After quite some time with very little action on night patrols, the Marines in Tim's MRAP unit experienced a heavy night of several explosions. A day or two later we got a rare call from Tim because he was ordered to a week of rest due to the concussion he received that night. So he had time to visit a while and tells Dad some of the details of that night.
Even as the MRAP is heavily armored and has given a little peace of mind to moms and wives; Marines are still patrolling for IEDs, on foot. Tim was walking outside, away from the MRAP that night. He saw huge vehicles being lifted high enough into the air to tear down power lines. He felt the blast behind his eyes, in his head, causing momentary darkness and severe pressure. He quickly awoke to find himself searching his body for whatever might be missing. He described the terrifying sensation of experiencing the tremendous explosions and then the numbed awareness of completing a night of patrol with a concussion or worse. Tim told Tom that the rest of the night he was extremely determined to watch every step that he made. Struggling to be absolutely sure that he was stepping into the the footprint of the uninjured Marine who walked ahead of him. Never stepping to either side, and if he couldn't see a footprint he stopped, not moving again until he located the next step that he could safely make.
Thank you, Tom for sharing with me how God had impressed upon you the meaning of those verses in Ephesians. Thank you Jesus, that Tim is alive and still has all of his limbs. Thank you Lord, that he'll be home soon and I pray that he will not have any lasting ill effects from this brain trauma injury (the "signature injury of the Iraq war" due to IEDs).
I now have a visual picture of walking circumspectly that will ever impress upon me the importance of following in Jesus' steps. Not to waiver to the left or the right and especially to stop, not getting ahead of His lead. Evil and danger lurk out there in the darkness away from the path of the Lord Jesus. Only a fool would carelessly wander away from His guidance and protection. I pray that He will impress upon me daily to walk circumspectly, not as a fool but as the wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
When you finish reading this blog you may want to review the ABC news stories about the MRAP vehicles with a short interview of Tim. I will try to put links to them, they both start out with a few seconds of a commercial before the story plays. Just move your cursor over the dates below and click on it.
May 8, 2007
July 18, 2007
Ephesians 5:15 & 16 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Whatever Pastor Ron may have been teaching last Sunday caused Tom's mind to wander back a few weeks to a phone call from Tim. All that Tim shared with Dad was probably not meant for Mom to know. But as a lesson from the Lord, it is something I will never forget.
August 24th, 2007 is a date I will always remember, not only is it grandson number four, Levi Timothy's birth date. But, I believe it is also that night which was particularly difficult for Tim in Iraq. After quite some time with very little action on night patrols, the Marines in Tim's MRAP unit experienced a heavy night of several explosions. A day or two later we got a rare call from Tim because he was ordered to a week of rest due to the concussion he received that night. So he had time to visit a while and tells Dad some of the details of that night.
Even as the MRAP is heavily armored and has given a little peace of mind to moms and wives; Marines are still patrolling for IEDs, on foot. Tim was walking outside, away from the MRAP that night. He saw huge vehicles being lifted high enough into the air to tear down power lines. He felt the blast behind his eyes, in his head, causing momentary darkness and severe pressure. He quickly awoke to find himself searching his body for whatever might be missing. He described the terrifying sensation of experiencing the tremendous explosions and then the numbed awareness of completing a night of patrol with a concussion or worse. Tim told Tom that the rest of the night he was extremely determined to watch every step that he made. Struggling to be absolutely sure that he was stepping into the the footprint of the uninjured Marine who walked ahead of him. Never stepping to either side, and if he couldn't see a footprint he stopped, not moving again until he located the next step that he could safely make.
Thank you, Tom for sharing with me how God had impressed upon you the meaning of those verses in Ephesians. Thank you Jesus, that Tim is alive and still has all of his limbs. Thank you Lord, that he'll be home soon and I pray that he will not have any lasting ill effects from this brain trauma injury (the "signature injury of the Iraq war" due to IEDs).
I now have a visual picture of walking circumspectly that will ever impress upon me the importance of following in Jesus' steps. Not to waiver to the left or the right and especially to stop, not getting ahead of His lead. Evil and danger lurk out there in the darkness away from the path of the Lord Jesus. Only a fool would carelessly wander away from His guidance and protection. I pray that He will impress upon me daily to walk circumspectly, not as a fool but as the wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
When you finish reading this blog you may want to review the ABC news stories about the MRAP vehicles with a short interview of Tim. I will try to put links to them, they both start out with a few seconds of a commercial before the story plays. Just move your cursor over the dates below and click on it.
May 8, 2007
July 18, 2007
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