Hey

[Doer]

Its been a while since I posted here because I joined the Marines and was, rather, still in training since last year. Anyways, as soon as I joined boot camp I felt like God abandoned me. I felt that way the whole way through. I slowly slipped away and now I feel he is trying to pull me back again. I got angry in boot camp because I felt nothing there. I tried, but nothing. Maybe its because they use his name in vain so much, I dont know.

Theirs a saying in the Marine Corps that "joining the Marine Corps is a one way ticket to hell." Now, I don't believe this but it reminds me of the rich man Jesus talked about. How its easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle. It feels like that. I don't expect anybody here to understand just exactly what its like unless their in the Marines. But you can get my point.

So as I said earlier, I actually feel him trying to reach out to me again. I dont know why now he decided to do it at this point in time. Whats wrong with boot camp and all the months after that? Is he testing my perseverence, my faith, my commitment? If so, I failed miserably. Maybe its his way of showing me that its going to be harder than I expected, and I have to be prepared.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I felt called to be an evangelist before I joined. I wanted to join the Marine Corps to pay for school so I wouldn't have any debt and I could do his bidding without distractions. Probably was a bad decision, but hey, nobodys perfect right? I think I just wanted somebody to hear my story and kind of evaluate the situation. I don't feel I'm up to par to be an evangelist if I cant even maintain myself through this. I'm sure its much worse being an evangelist being threatned to be martyred.

I'll shup up now, this is turning into a rant.

 

[stormdancer0]

So, go to school to be a military chaplain. You will never find a more needful group to evangelize. Many, especially the really young ones, act the way they do simply because they're scared. The saying, "There's no atheists in foxholes" has a lot of truth.

It is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to come to God, BUT the next statement from Jesus is, With Me, all things are possible. THAT is what I would be holding onto. The enemy is an expert at mis-using the Gospel to push around (and down) those important to God's plan. Anytime a verse seems to be saying something depressing or anything like that, get out the Bible and read. Use the 20/20 rule. Read 20 verses above that one, and 20 after. It gives you a better insight as to what the verse is REALLY saying.

Being a marine is the only job I know of that could possibly be harder than being a pastor. We will pray for you.

Susan

 

[songbird2020]

Well I can't say it any better than stormdancer already has. I don't know why God seems so far away sometimes, but He never abandons us. He has a reason for allowing us to go through desert experiences, and He always draws us back to Him.

But... I just wanted to chime in to say THANK YOU for joining the Marines. I appreciate your sacrifice for our great land. I am so proud of our military and I want you to know you are loved.

I'ld like to refer you to a website you might enjoy. It's a blog done by my local AOG church. There are two posts I'd especially like you to check out. Maybe it will be encouraging to you.

I'm not able to post links, so...

Go to celebrateamericaonline dot com, go to the second page and check out the Praise You In This Storm post, and the Highlights from Celebrate America post. Both have videos you should watch.

I was priviledged to be a part of the Singing Flag (you'll see what I mean) and it was an awesome night. When the military men in uniform started to line up behind the audience to march onstage for the Salute to the Armed Forces, thousands of people in the audience stood up, turned their backs to the act that was going on onstage, and applauded the Marines, Airmen, and Soldiers as they lined up. Best moment of the evening!

Blessings to you, dear friend.

Donna