Doing God’s work, literally
When I was visiting my sister-in-law a few weeks ago, before my brother returned from Iraq, she hosted a group of fellow officers’ wives for lunch. These were fantastic women: warm, smart, funny, good moms. I have seen bumper stickers and t-shirts that say “Marine Wife: Toughest Job in the Corps” and after meeting these women, I admired their ability to keep on trucking, often with smiles and laughter, even when they were missing their husbands miserably and tiring of long bouts single motherhood.
After we finished lunch, we sat around the table telling stories and exchanging anxieties over their hubby’s pending returns. One woman’s husband had been in a bad helicopter crash, or “hard landing,” while he was over there. He survived, thank heavens, but he lost crewmen and was badly injured. As her 18-month-old daughter sat on her lap, she turned to the chaplin’s wife at the other end of the table and told her how much the chaplin had meant to her husband during his troubled times and how much comfort this brought her. Tears started streaming down her face and soon we were all crying with her, grateful that such men of God are there for our guys.
I thought of her story when I read this today. I lost most of my Catholicism years ago, but I still admire those who can keep their faith during the most testing times. This guy deserves a medal.