A strong arm in dark places
I almost lost my mind when a soldier grabbed my arm and asked, “Can you walk me back to my foxhole?” during our field training exercise together. This memorial event happened while I was training in the US Army’s primary leadership development course. It was my first time attending a course with warriors outside the Special Operations community.
By the time I was a sergeant in this course, I knew a lot about leadership, but I needed to learn how to construct a defensive perimeter using foxholes as fighting positions. (Rangers don’t do defensive operations. The closest thing we did to a defensive operation was digging hasty “shallow graves” out of the earth during patrol base activities. Even this was a way to prepare to attack the enemy again. Even the defense was a preparation for the offense for Army Rangers.) This was also my first experience working with the conventional forces of the US Military, and it was a tough learning curve.
This scared soldier was a supply sergeant in a support unit. This was one of the first times she had been in the woods during her military career. I almost lost my military bearing at this ridiculous request when she told me that she was medically blind at night.
The US Army assigned her to a desk job in a support unit because she was unable to fight at night! I was able to swallow my frustration and disgust at the US Army only by listening to the absolute fear in her voice. After a few minutes of walking her over logs and around the command tent, I could take her directly to her foxhole. You can only imagine the relief when she got back to her position on the perimeter that night.
Reaching out in the dark
I’ve often wondered how that soldier felt during this short training exercise. When the darkness settled in, she was blind, alone, and scared. Because of her isolation, she held a death grip on my arm. That night, I learned a great spiritual lesson in the woods. It’s a lesson that has helped me face my fears when the situation is scary and I have no idea how the outcome will turn out.
Whose strong arm can you reach out to? All of us face dark, difficult circumstances. We all need a strong arm to grab onto when life gets overwhelming. This sergeant spent years as a successful leader in the US Army. It was only when she faced the black of night with her blindness that she needed an arm to hold onto. Most of us go through life never realizing we need that strong arm until it is too late. I don’t want you to be the person who falls into a pit because you’re spiritually blind and have no one to reach out to.
Borrowing strength from another strong arm
The second spiritual lesson I learned walking across the defensive perimeter that night is about borrowing courage. This young Sergeant developed more confidence as we walked further across the defensive perimeter. Although she could never walk across the woods at night alone, she could start walking with more confidence because she had an arm to hang on to.
How many people barely make it through life's problems, trying to handle things on their own strength? God did not create you to go through the dark circumstances of life on your own. Your creator designed you to need someone else to lean on. I hope you have a that you can trust when times get challenging. I hope another sister in your life is there for you when you are in need. However, King Jesus is the ultimate arm we should all reach out to when facing dark, difficult circumstances.
Proverbs 18:24 describes the strongest arm you will ever reach out to. This verse says, “1 with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.” You can reach out and hold on to Jesus's arm no matter how deep the pit or how difficult the circumstances of your life are. You can trust Jesus's strength because he will always be there with you and never leave or forsake you.
Walking this sergeant through the woods at night taught me to borrow Jesus’s strength and courage during dark times. He is a friend closer who is closer than your own family. This means his arm is always within reach if you grab it during difficult circumstances.
1 Comment
Excellent timing on this post. 2024 has been a tough health year. Complications from a February surgery left me with chronic kidney failure; developed asthma in the spring; tore the cartilage in both knees in August; got Covid and subsequently Long Covid in September; 10 days into this, I got blood clots in my legs and lungs accompanied by two hospitalizations and removal of the clots.
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nLike the Sgt., some days it was hard to find my way and hard to take another step. However, Christ accompanied me and still does daily through the medication and treatment routines, and the litany of doctor’s visits. Hopefully soon, He’ll get me back to the “foxhole” of health so I can get back into the battle and fighting on for Christ. In the meantime, I’ll keep holding on…
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