A Defining Moment
When I graduated from high school, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I tried college, but it didn’t go well for me. I wasn’t disciplined enough to study, and I didn’t care. My father wanted me to work for him in the construction business. That was hard work, especially in Florida, out in the hot sun every day. It was a nowhere job, taking me nowhere.
Contemplating my lousy future, I decided, out of the blue, to join the U.S. Army. I didn’t tell my parents; I just got up and did it. I went down to the recruiter’s office, signed the paperwork, took the oath with some other simpletons, and was put on a bus and shipped out to Fort Gordon, Georgia.
As we “Rainbows,” still in civilian clothes, fell off the bus, a tall, skinny staff sergeant screamed unpleasant remarks at us. He made sure we knew that he was our new “Mother.”
The very first night in the barracks, I stood in line waiting to use the pay phone. Finally, when it was my turn, I called my Mom and Dad. When they answered the phone, I simply said, “Hi. I bet you can’t guess where I am.”
They were shocked. I was in shock. My life was no longer my own. The Army owned me now, and they reminded me of that every morning.
I admit I was a sniveling little kid who didn’t want to take responsibility for my decisions. How was I going to get through this ordeal I had made for myself? I found out during the eighth week of Basic Training.
In our last task as a training company, we had to go through an Infiltration Course designed to break you. We had to crawl 100 yards on our backs, with our rifles under barbed wire. There were shooters at the other end firing M60 machine guns over our heads. On the ground, explosive charges would go off randomly. It didn’t occur to us that they were pre-designed for maximum effect.
After crawling the hundred yards, I fell into a trench, exhausted and drenched with sweat. I couldn’t help it—I broke down in sobs, thinking, “I made it. I did it.”
A DEFINING MOMENT FOR ME.
In those 100 yards, I had changed. I grew up. I took responsibility for my actions. I became a “man.”
God has a way of giving us defining moments: to choose Him or not to choose Him, to witness His name to others or to stay quiet.
It occurred to me that following Christ is a defining moment for eternity. Our goal as we go through life is to reach the finish line. We can do it by ourselves, or we can invite Jesus to be with us as we claim our victory in Christ as our defining moment.
Contemplating my lousy future, I decided, out of the blue, to join the U.S. Army. I didn’t tell my parents; I just got up and did it. I went down to the recruiter’s office, signed the paperwork, took the oath with some other simpletons, and was put on a bus and shipped out to Fort Gordon, Georgia.
As we “Rainbows,” still in civilian clothes, fell off the bus, a tall, skinny staff sergeant screamed unpleasant remarks at us. He made sure we knew that he was our new “Mother.”
The very first night in the barracks, I stood in line waiting to use the pay phone. Finally, when it was my turn, I called my Mom and Dad. When they answered the phone, I simply said, “Hi. I bet you can’t guess where I am.”
They were shocked. I was in shock. My life was no longer my own. The Army owned me now, and they reminded me of that every morning.
I admit I was a sniveling little kid who didn’t want to take responsibility for my decisions. How was I going to get through this ordeal I had made for myself? I found out during the eighth week of Basic Training.
In our last task as a training company, we had to go through an Infiltration Course designed to break you. We had to crawl 100 yards on our backs, with our rifles under barbed wire. There were shooters at the other end firing M60 machine guns over our heads. On the ground, explosive charges would go off randomly. It didn’t occur to us that they were pre-designed for maximum effect.
After crawling the hundred yards, I fell into a trench, exhausted and drenched with sweat. I couldn’t help it—I broke down in sobs, thinking, “I made it. I did it.”
A DEFINING MOMENT FOR ME.
In those 100 yards, I had changed. I grew up. I took responsibility for my actions. I became a “man.”
God has a way of giving us defining moments: to choose Him or not to choose Him, to witness His name to others or to stay quiet.
It occurred to me that following Christ is a defining moment for eternity. Our goal as we go through life is to reach the finish line. We can do it by ourselves, or we can invite Jesus to be with us as we claim our victory in Christ as our defining moment.
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