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War Hero

Veteran’s Day is right around the corner. Do you have a favorite war hero? I do. I’m surprised I was never taught about him in school. Instead, I found out about him through a biographical film, “Hacksaw Ridge.” To me he’s one of the greatest war heroes of all time. Once you learn about him, I don’t think you will ever forget his name. Desmond Doss.

Desmond was a Christian whose personal and religious beliefs prevented him from using a weapon. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he wanted to serve his country by saving lives as a combat medic. He enlisted in the Army even though he worked as a ship joiner in the Newport News shipyard and could have received a deferment.

The Army refused this scrawny 145 lb., 5’8″ Virginian’s request to serve as a medic, assigning him to a rifle company. There Desmond was hated by his fellow soldiers, who taunted him not just because he refused to touch a weapon, but also because he read the bible every day and refused to work on the Sabbath.

During basic training, his officers tried various tactics to get him to either quit or request a transfer out of their battalion, even to the point of charging him with mental instability. A hearing was held to decide his fate, and he was granted his request to serve as a combat medic.

Desmond’s battalion was sent to the Pacific Theater during the Battle of Okinawa. They were assigned to take an escarpment appropriately named “Hacksaw Ridge” because of the high death rate of those who tried to take it. During that horrific battle, many of his comrades were wounded and some were killed. Defeat seemed inevitable as they faced heavy artillery, mortar and machine gun fire. They were ordered to retreat, and hurriedly climbed back down the 350′ escarpment leaving the wounded and dead behind facing inevitable capture or death.

But Desmond disobeyed his commander. He stayed behind and crawled from soldier to soldier to tend to their wounds under heavy gunfire. Working alone all through the night under fire, he dragged them one by one to the edge of the ridge, tied a rope around them, and lowered them to safety below. Some of the men in his battalion at the bottom of the ridge saw what he was doing. They released the men from the rope, staying there throughout the night as Desmond worked tirelessly asking God to help him.

Exhausted, especially for a man of his small stature, he asked God to help him. Over the course of 12 hours, he ended up rescuing all 75 of his men, even the deceased, leaving no man behind including his injured Captain. These were the same men who taunted him, called him a coward, and fought so hard to get rid of him.

Desmond’s heroism won the respect of his fellow soldiers. In fact, they later refused to go into battle without him, allowing him time to pray and read his bible beforehand.

John 15:13 says “Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends.” That’s exactly what Desmond did that night, risking his life for his comrades every moment he stayed on that ridge under enemy fire. Desmond was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic efforts, including multiple Bronze stars and Purple Hearts during his heroic service in other battles. He has since passed away, but I’m sure he had even greater rewards waiting for him in heaven.

It’s that time of year again—football season. At my house, it’s all football all the time on the television. My husband is a huge fan. I join him on rare occasions during a big game. I don’t dislike football. I just have other things I prefer to do with my time.

One thing I will watch is a good football movie. One of my favorite inspirational sports films is Rudy. I have seen it numerous times, and it always makes me cry. It’s one of the most famous sports films ever made. The film is based on the true story of Rudy Ruettiger, a young man who dreamed of playing football for Notre Dame since he was a child. From time to time he would tell others of his dream, only to be laughed at. With poor grades in school, no money (one of fourteen children), and only 5’6”, Rudy had gigantic obstacles in his path.

During high school Rudy did play football. He joined the Navy after graduation, went to work for the local power plant for a couple of years, and then decided to pursue his dream. He applied to Notre Dame only to be rejected. He attended community college for two years and worked hard at raising his grades. During this time, he persisted in applying to Notre Dame. His fourth attempt was a success.

He didn’t make the football team, but he did make the practice squad. Still, he never gave up. In his senior year, in their final game, the coach put Rudy on the field. He had finally fulfilled his dream and even scored a sack. Beloved by his fellow teammates, he was carried off the field on their shoulders. Almost twenty years later, the now famous film Rudy was born. He travels the country inspiring others with his story.

Rudy reminds me a lot of another young boy who went up against a giant. He’s the famous David who went up against Goliath. He too was laughed at when he accepted Goliath’s challenge. But he didn’t let that stop him. He knew God would give him the victory no matter the odds against him. We all know how that story ends.

I believe we all have a calling. Sometimes it seems unachievable to others who may even laugh at us. But, when God places a calling on our lives and a dream in our hearts, he will help us achieve it. I truly believe that God can make the impossible, possible. Luke 18:27 says, “What’s impossible with man, is possible with God.”

Just like a football player who holds on to the ball for dear life, we need to hold on to what God has put in our hearts and not let go. He will help us overcome each obstacle along the way and get us over the goal line.

Eight years ago my husband and I became first time dog owners of an approximately three year old female shih tzu. Twelve pounds at the time, we adopted her from a rescue group who pulled her from an animal shelter after she was found wandering the streets in a city about thirty miles away and went unclaimed at the shelter.

The rescue group named her Farrah because her hair reminded the rescue group’s foster mom of Farrah Fawcett, the beautiful actress from years ago with the long blonde wavy tresses. She is remembered for her famous 1976 image on the best-selling poster in history. When it came time to rename Farrah, I wanted something fun and different. The name “Fergie” popped into my head, and so it was.

Fergie is the calmest, most chilled out dog I’ve ever met. Even some of my husband’s friends have made the same comment. She always sleeps late and usually is in no rush to go out to do her business. She definitely has a lot of patience and self-control. She’s been such a blessing to us in so many ways. We’ve learned a lot from her over the years.

One such lesson my husband often speaks about revolves around Fergie’s behavior on her walks. When one of us takes Fergie for a walk, occasionally a much bigger dog, and sometimes one the same size or smaller, will be passing by on the opposite side of the street. Ordinarily it’s not an issue, but once in a while one of the other dogs will turn towards Fergie and bark at her in a loud angry way. Sometimes Fergie turns to look at the barking dog while she remains silent, and then just continues on her stroll. And sometimes she won’t even bother to look at the other dog at all as if he/she doesn’t exist. Fergie just keeps walking without acknowledging the barker, although she knows the other dog is speaking to her. In the meantime, the other owner is often trying to hold back their dog and get it to calm down.

Oh how we all could learn from Fergie whenever we have someone “barking” at us for whatever the reason. The bible says in Proverbs 26:20: “Without wood a fire goes out.” If we, as humans, would ignore the “barking” behavior towards us by someone else instead of “barking” back, the fire would die down.

Fergie’s demonstration of Proverbs 26:20 is one to emulate. It would definitely make for a calmer life for those who practice it. It’s certainly working for Fergie.

I was working as an Executive Assistant some years ago, when I received a phone call from my boss, Jane, who was vacationing in Germany. Sounding frantic, she told me how her pocketbook was stolen in a restaurant off the back of her chair after she stepped away. The purse not only contained cash and credit cards, but most importantly her passport.

Jane and her husband were scheduled to return home in two days. Without a passport, they would miss their flight. Because it was a holiday, the American Embassy was closed. She asked me to make several calls to see what I could do, and to also call the credit card companies.

I instantly thought of the many times I’d wasted hours looking for my misplaced car keys or something else I needed, only to resort to prayer when my own efforts failed. I always ended up finding the misplaced items, even if it took a while.

“Jane, I’m going to pray you get your pocketbook back. The thieves probably only wanted the cash. They probably dumped the purse somewhere.”

She was very pessimistic and dismissive about the possibility of ever seeing her pocketbook again, let alone her passport. But once she hung up, I bowed my head and whispered, “Dear heavenly father, you know where Jane’s pocketbook is, and that she needs her passport to return home. Your word says what is impossible with man, is possible with God. I pray you would return her passport to her and use this as a witness to Jane that you do answer prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

She called me several times over the next several hours, checking on the status of things. I just finished lunch when she called again.

“I’ve got my passport back,” she exclaimed.

“How?” I asked.

“The concierge in our hotel called to tell me that someone from a local church found it in one of the pews. Because I kept our hotel’s business card in my purse, they called me here. The only thing missing was the cash.”

“See, God does answer prayer,” I said with excitement.

Jane wasn’t convinced. To her it was a matter of good luck.

Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every thing by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

God wants us to pray about everything! We don’t have to accept certain negative or bad things that come our way as ‘that’s just the way it is, and there’s nothing we can do about it.’ We don’t have to give up hope. We have a heavenly father we can go to in our time of need, and not just as a last resort.

What we all need is just a little more faith.

I recently watched the interview of Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, authors of  the book, “Dogwinks,” a collection of inspirational canine stories. One of those stories is about a dog named Ruby.

A high energy Australian Shepherd and Border Collie mix, Ruby was returned to a New England area SPCA for the fifth time when she was only seven months old because of unmanageable behavior. Pat Inman, the woman who trained the SPCA dogs before they were adopted, was at their shelter when the manager told her Ruby was scheduled to be euthanized in several hours because of behavioral concerns.

“You can’t do that,” Pat yelled. She insisted that Ruby was very bright despite her uncontrollable behavior and should be given a chance. “Please call the Police Canine Unit,” she begged. The manager explained that he had contacted them before about taking one of their dogs, but without success.

“They buy $15,000 dogs bred specifically for search and rescue.”

“But can’t you at least try?” she pled.

“I’m sorry,” he replied.

After Pat left in tears, the manager relented and called the Canine Unit about Ruby. Little did the manager know that the Unit had been ready to purchase a purebred puppy, only to have their budget cut. No money. No purebred. They decided to take a chance on Ruby. They called Officer Dan, a State Trooper, whose dream was to be on the K-9 Rescue Team. He was paired with Ruby. After months of difficult training with Dan, Ruby achieved champion status.

Several years later Dan and Ruby were on a search and rescue mission looking for a local boy missing for 36 hours in the frigid evening temperatures. As they headed for the nearby woods, Ruby bolted from Officer Dan. When he caught up with her, she was at the bottom of a ravine licking the bloodied face of the still living boy. Officer Dan contacted his team to bring in a stretcher. When their GPS wouldn’t work, Officer Dan had Ruby bark until they could be located.

After the boy was sent to the hospital, Officer Dan headed for the parents’ home to give them the good news of how the Search and Rescue Canine Unit had located her son. As he was leaving, the mother asked, “Have you ever heard of a dog named Ruby?”

“That’s my partner.” Dan explained. “She’s the one who found your son.”

“I’m the one who pled for Ruby’s life when they were going to euthanize her,” the mother, Pat Inman, cried. “I always wondered what happened to her.”

“The dog you saved is the one who saved your son’s life.”

The story of Ruby, a National Search and Rescue Dog, is soon to be made into a movie entitled, “Rescued by Ruby.”

God tells us in Galatians 6:7: “A man reaps what he sows.” The scripture also goes on to say in verse 9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” It may have taken a few years, but Pat was reaping a harvest from her efforts years earlier as she pled for Ruby’s life.

Years ago my Mom was visiting my husband and me for a month around Mother’s Day. “I would love to have a photo of my Mom,” she lamented. “The only one I had was ruined when I mistakenly left it in the pocket of my uniform at the orphanage. I’ve wanted one ever since.”

Mom and her five siblings were raised in orphanages and foster homes since she was a toddler during the Depression. They soon drifted apart. And Mom had only met her mother once while she was in foster care.

Growing up, Mom told us stories about her childhood, but we never met any of her family. I always wished I knew where Mom came from and who her parents were, and the whereabouts of her siblings. I don’t know why I never thought to look for them, especially since it bothered me that I hadn’t met any of them.

“I’m going to help you find a photo of your Mom.” With pen and paper in hand, I questioned her about her siblings. I scoured the internet for their whereabouts. Sadly, three of them were deceased. When I finally located the other two, neither possessed a photo of their Mom.

I searched for two years gathering a large amount of information which included school and orphanage records, birth and marriage certificates, etc. I also located some of Mom’s cousins who provided family photos, but none of my maternal grandmother. I had exhausted all options. Discouraged, I hit my knees and prayed, asking God to help me find a photo of my grandmother. I knew He knew where I could find one!

Days later I received a phone call from one of mom’s cousins I had written to the prior week. She had been working on the family’s genealogy for years and accumulated volumes of information in addition to numerous photographs. Later that night she emailed me a beautiful photograph of my grandmother taken when she was the maid of honor at her sister’s wedding. She was sixteen years old and standing next to the bride and groom. I called Mom.

“Mom, I’m looking at a beautiful photo of your mother!” I cried. Mom was on the other end of the call crying as well. I mailed her a copy the very next day. The following month I held a family reunion and invited my newly found relatives. That Christmas I presented Mom and each of my siblings with a binder filled with photographs, documents, and stories about the relatives we never knew.

Now we no longer wonder where she came from or what happened to her family, and I have my genealogy dating back to the 1800s, including photographs of my grandparents and great-grandparents. What started out as a quest for a photo turned into so much more.

Ephesians 3:20(a) says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” God certainly did that in this case.

A few months ago my husband and I watched an incredible documentary entitled “Harry and Snowman” about a horse trainer and his beloved horse. A moving Cinderella story, I was surprised Hollywood hadn’t made it into a movie for the big screen (“hint, hint”).

In the mid-1950s Harry de Leyer, a riding instructor at a prestigious all girls boarding school on the East Coast, was on his way to a horse auction. Late to the auction due to a flat tire, the remaining horses were boarding a trailer headed for the slaughterhouse. Harry locked eyes with a beautiful white horse and asked if he could take a better look at it. After the horse was unloaded, their eyes met once again. Seconds later their fates were changed. Harry paid $80.00 for the eight-year-old horse, previously used as a plow horse, and named him Snowman.

Shortly thereafter Harry turned Snowman over to a farmer who lived five miles away as payment of a debt. Harry had previously promised to give the farmer his next horse acquisition. Several days later, Snowman jumped the fenced and galloped the five miles to Harry’s doorstep. Harry returned Snowman to his owner with the suggestion that the new owner build a taller fence, which he did. A few days later, Snowman once again showed up on Harry’s doorstep. This time, Harry suggested the owner tie a large tire to a long rope tied to Snowman to keep him inside the corral. Once again, Snowman jumped the high fence, tire in tow, and showed up at Harry’s home, still attached to the rope and tire. Harry promised Snowman he would never part with him again. He paid the farmer for the debt and kept Snowman.

Snowman became the family’s pet. But realizing Snowman had a talent for jumping, Harry began to train him and soon after entered him into jumping competitions. And Snowman won. Again and Again. In two years, he went on to become the Open Jumper Champion two years in a row. Snowman became famous with television appearances, his own fan club, being the subject of magazine articles and books, and so much more. After he retired, he remained with Harry until his death at twenty-six.

Snowman’s story made me think about myself before I became a Christian. I was a “plow horse” just plodding along in life not fulfilling my real purpose until I became a Christian and asked for God’s direction in my life. I wonder how many others go through life never fulfilling the things God planned and purposed for them because they’ve never asked him what he wanted them to do with their lives.

Ephesians 2:10 says: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

While I didn’t become famous like Snowman, I did appear on television (twice on The 700 Club), and authored an award winning book. And we both have our similar Cinderella stories to inspire others.

New Year’s resolutions are made every year. My best guess, after going to crowded gyms in January and February, is that working out more and losing weight are at the top of the list. But when March comes around, the gyms are back to normal. I wonder why it’s so hard for us to keep our resolutions?

I received a clear revelation of the answer to my own personal struggle many years ago. When I became a Christian at 26, I wanted to quit smoking cigarettes, a habit I started at 19. I became convicted that ingesting tobacco wasn’t good for me, and I also believed God didn’t want me to smoke. Besides, none of my new Christian friends smoked, and I felt like an outsider. Every New Year’s that followed, I’d quit smoking, only to fail. I would quit and go back. Quit and go back. The quitting usually didn’t last very long.

After many failed attempts over the course of seven years, I couldn’t understand why I failed as a Christian to conquer this addiction. After all, I had prayed about it for years, and even asked others to pray for me. Most of all, as a Christian who believes the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of us, I had the power of God living inside of me. I was puzzled that my attempts had been so futile.

One day I asked God why I hadn’t succeeded. I didn’t hear an audible response, but the thought entered my mind, “Because you aren’t really willing to give them up.” I knew that thought wasn’t from me, but from God. And I also knew it was correct.

Ever since I was nineteen, those cigarettes were my crutch. They calmed me down. They were a physiological addiction, an habitual addiction, and an emotional addiction. I changed my prayer. “Dear God, please help me to be willing to give up cigarettes.” The next day I threw out my cigarettes and the detoxification began with success.

Two weeks later, I met the man I would eventually end up marrying after seven years of praying for a spouse. It wasn’t long after we started dating that I found out he never dated women who smoked! We’ve now been married for thirty years.

Had I not quit smoking when I did, my destiny would have not been fulfilled. I still have no desire to smoke, and I can’t even stand the smell of cigarettes.

God says, “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” When the Holy Spirit convicts us that we need to give up an addiction, it’s in our own best interest. I’m so glad I listened to that still small voice and asked God to help me be willing. I feel it’s one of my greatest personal accomplishments, achieved with the help of my Heavenly Father.

Years ago I was sitting on a downtown bench after work waiting for a commuter express bus headed towards the interstate.

I was using a new pocketbook with a small handle not large enough to put over my shoulder. I placed the purse beside me so I could read my book. The bus arrived, and I completely forgot about my purse. A few minutes later, I realized it was missing. Panic set in as I looked all around. The purse contained my house and car keys, driver’s license, ATM card, address book with my contact information, a little over $30, and a few other items. My husband was working out of town, and I was home alone. Knowing I was trapped with no way to go back for my purse, I prayed. “Dear Heavenly Father, please put your angels around my pocketbook until I can retrieve it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

 “What’s wrong?” one of the female passengers asked. I explained my situation, and she offered to drive me back downtown to look for my purse.

We arrived at the bench, but no purse in sight. We even looked in nearby trash barrels. Now I was going to have to call a locksmith to change all the locks on our house.

The woman brought me to my friend’s who had a spare set of keys to our house, and then to my car after I retrieved my spare set of car keys from our home. Once I returned home again, I found a message on my answering machine from Ernest Jones, a bus driver who said he found my pocketbook on a downtown bench.

Within the hour my friend and I met Ernest at a local ice cream parlor. He returned my purse with everything intact. “Two women boarded the bus at your stop but left the purse on the bench. I started to drive away, but stopped, and retrieved your purse,” he told me.

I expressed my appreciation and gave him a Bible. “There’s a thank you card in there for you to open later,” I told him, not disclosing it contained a $100 check.

The next day I was so grateful, I called the local newspaper to tell them what happened. They interviewed us that very day. The next morning a large photograph of the two of us appeared on the front page above our story: “Bus Driver Takes Honest Route.” We were both interviewed for the local nightly news later that day.

Ernest called me several times to tell me about various gifts he received from strangers after our story was released. Gift certificates for new sneakers, a free weekend at a local beach resort, meals at local restaurants, and more. He told me it wasn’t the first time he found something valuable and returned it, but it was the first time he was rewarded for his honesty. As a teen, he found a pocketbook containing $21,000 from the proceeds of a real estate transaction. He returned it to its rightful owner, but never received a reward.

“God didn’t forget what you did years ago Ernest. You’re just getting rewarded for it now.”

God tells us in Galatians 6:9: “Let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.”