A WARRIORS A STORY:

It has been a very long day today.  Being the only full time staff chaplain present, others were either TDY or off today.  I had more to do, and I was getting rather tired.  And I had spent more of my time with paper work, IDT's (Interdisciplinary Team Meetings.), and the hospice and declining WW2 vets.

I had been told by one of our more inexperienced chaplains that the psychiatrist did not want Chaplains on the Psych ward, a place where all the PTSD sufferers and other emotionally scarred troops from OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom)  are now located.  Being clinically trained, I doubted this very seriously, but being the "new kid on the block" I decided to not challenge the assumption; however, staying away from this ward kept me away from the very opportunities too which I am called.  The Lord Jesus changed that today!  PTL!

Well as the day came to and end, I had placed on my desk a consult from a  Psychiatrist asking for a chaplain to visit with a patient on the psychiatric ward. It was placed there by the inexperienced Chaplain whom I now know is intimated by going to this ward. He (the Psychiatrist) could not help veteran Marine in ways he needed help.  (No names will be used to protect the identity of people mentioned in this blog.   

 I responded to find a young man who had experienced the pure hell of the war in Iraq 3 times.  In other words, he had 3 tours in Iraq. On the last tour in Iraq,  this Marine was the "Gunny".... NCO in charge of his troops, and on this last tour, a 19 year old died in his arms, "whom it was his duty to keep alive."  He cursed God that day and walked away from God.  He hated God.  He blamed God.  He questioned God.  He lost his family.  He lost his home.  He lost his sanity.  The horrors of war had taken their toll.  I listened to his confessional until he stopped and asked me to help him make things right with God.  He wanted God to forgive him.

I told him about the warrior, David, who was a man after God's on heart, and I told him about how David not only had a soldier die in his arms, he cheated on the man by having a Baby with his wife and then set the guy up to die by abandoning him on the battle field.  I then told him about the prayer this warrior prayed for forgiveness in Psalm 51. I told him God forgave him all he had done.

I told him the story of the one who had been traumatized by the war for souls of man, even Jesus.  I asked him why he felt Jesus was traumatized like this?  He gave his answer, and I then shared with him that Jesus took his punishment so that he could walk free from the Judgement he felt before the judge of the Universe.  A light bulb seemed to come on in this young man's soul who had felt so lost in the darkness.   Peace also came over him.

He then said, I want to ask God to forgive me, but I do not know how.  I asked if he would let me help him form the words (words that became his)  He prayed through all the things he had confessed to me  and all the things for which he was ashamed.  The tears flowed down his cheeks, and he knew God forgave him.  PRAISE GOD!

I am now using spiritual cognitive behavior to help him become stronger by changing the bad scripts war and life have put in his mind.  I am helping him  replace them by having him repeat positive life affirming scriptures that will replace those bad scripts that give him life and peace. He now has his own Bible and a list scriptures to bring peace, hope, joy and love to his life.

God is Good All the time, and all the time, God is Good.
God loves the warrior.
God heals the tortured soul of the warrior.
God forgives the warrior.  He did this young man.  Thanks be to God.
Be Blessed 2day... Especially 2day.

Al

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