Your body is one thing, your Heart is quite another!
By Don Twobears
I just saw a picture across the Internet, of a very young man that is going to be forced to grow up much faster than his peers. He is a Marine sitting in a wheelchair and had no legs at all. HE is dressed in his “Dress Uniform” and is saluting, hopefully the Flag of our Nation. Being a combat Veteran, I feel the fear and anguish for this young man, of what his life will be as he grows older. It elates me to a degree, happiness and Patriotism and all…and at the same time…it depresses me.
So why would it depress me? Aside from the obvious lose of his legs, he may feel somethings that I pray he does not. Things like being “Left out” of the norm, maybe and I pray not, to feeling less of a man for loosing his legs. I know there will be times when some young ladies, will see that sweet young face and that awe-inspiring smile, the uniform and think to themselves How wonderful he is…until they see the wheelchair. Then they will simply turn away and not pay any more attention to him. I wish I could take that away for him, so that he never has to experience it.
I am sure this young Marine has all the aspirations of all young men, yet his will be different, catastrophically changed by war! It is basically this, he will be confined to that wheelchair, the rest of his life! So how does a young woman look at such a young guy like this? We all know, that it will take some real LOVE to be married to him, some real tough times and so the question will always be, will LOVE be enough for them?
You see there are somethings that maybe you don’t think about, like the times he falls out of his chair and even how much he is going to hate that chair. He will loose some friends, simply because it pulls the strings of your heart every time you see him and after a while, it can be too much to deal with. Or it could be those times he looses it and becomes angry with his situation, or bouts of depression. No one is going to know exactly how much this young man is going to suffer, despite giving up his legs for such a Noble cause like Freedom. How many young ladies are there in this world, that have a big enough heart to look past all the things, that they had once considered, so precious and normal? Again, is LOVE going to be enough?!
I know there is one set of Parents out there, feeling so terrible for their Son, despite their LOVE for him. They are old enough and wise enough to be able to look down that road for him and already sense the pain and frustration for him! Many a pillow is going to collect tears in the days to come, his as well.
Our Government and our Veterans Administration will fail him, if they have not already done so! People in general will fail him with their stares and the thoughts, “That poor boy!” And he already knows some people will simply be glad it was him and not them that lost so very much. In my Heart, I wonder, what it is that makes this young Marine pop to attention and salute a Flag, a flag that represents so many things he will no longer have?! It pains my Heart to no end and I ask the question again, will LOVE be enough?
I know there have been many like him and for a wide range of reasons, but there is one point that needs to be considered here, What about this one young man? The one thing most people don’t understand, you can not bundle all these people together, each one is an individual. This one young Marine, lived his entire 18 years with a strong body, strong legs, running and jumping and walking everywhere. In one swift and agonizing moment his legs were removed forever! And in that same one moment, we will have changed our perspective of this young Marine as well. If they threw a parade for him when he came home, which in my heart HE deserves a ton more, everyone singing his praise will never have to live as he will, day to day, hour to hour and minute to minute. In a very short statement, the agony has just begun and in more ways than anyone of us could ever imagine!
Here is a situation that few Born-Again Christians never think of, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Healed the sick, Raised the dead, but what about those that were missing limbs? I KNOW the Lord God Almighty loves them as well, but there is that one question, that I FEAR will enter this young Marines mind at some point in time. The only time that the legs of this young Marine will be reunited with him, is after he dies or is Raptured.
There is one crime, no one is ever able to walk away from, being convicted as a Thief, once a thief, always a thief. Once you loose a leg or an arm, it will never be there again!
There are many that are whole physically, but are missing a Heart. It was robbed from them in some manner and the manner of robbery are wide and many. In some instances we call it a Broken Heart and some people just call them sad. How does one move forward when they are missing some very important parts?! The disadvantages are extreme in some cases, depending on the disability and some disabilities begin to infringe on other areas of their lives as well. This Marine has lost both of his legs, how will his ‘Self-Consciousness or awareness be effected’? Will he have a good Self-Esteem? That my Friends, will be a paramount task to engage in. On a scale of 1-10, making it to 5 will be a tremendous effort and I must wonder is there a way to reach 10? Lets look to God’s Holy Word and see.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
I usually find, that the smallest words of the Bible, have the greatest value. Have you ever noticed that the Holy Word of God, never once says anything about missing limbs or the like, because to our Lord and Savior, that does NOT matter! This is further evidence, that ANYONE can come to Jesus Christ and in doing so…will find PEACE!
John 4:23-24 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
As we look to our Lord and Savior for Peace, we must understand HE is a SPIRIT and so we must meet HIM on that Level…with our Spirit! What part of this and what has been said, references anything of the Physical?! None of it, the Physical or the Body means nothing! Anything Physical will remain right here on Earth, where as Heaven will be for the Spirit! Riches, wealth, clothing, possessions of any kind, will stay right here on this planet and this will include missing legs too.
Is it now easy to see that this physical life is very, very, short?! That what we experience here is temporary as well?! We are here to determine for ourselves, what our Eternal Life will be and that’s it! Your here to make that one choice…JUST for YOU! It does not matter how much you have lost here, it matters what your Heart is destined for and Jesus Christ is that one TRUE and ETERNAL Best choice. Because with Jesus Christ…you have all your parts as what was meant in the first place and everything will be forever!
Have you ever had a really tough day and you finally get into bed and you can now make that one “Sigh of Relief” and drift off into peaceful sleep? We all have right? Well, what if that was your last breath that you expelled, where would you exist with that next inhale? Trust me Friends, this is something to really think about, one must be very, very, sure about this. If there is yet one question left, you have some real research and action to be taken care of. It is one thing to wonder about anything, it is quite another to KNOW.
2 Timothy 1:12 “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I KNOW whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
I use the King James version of the Bible and all emphasis is mine.