World War II Meets West Texas Hospital

Today while I was at an un-named hospital west of Abilene, I chanced to see a little old man barely making his way through the hospital cafeteria with the aid of a walking cane, which he leaned very heavily upon.  The gentleman was trying to balance a breakfast tray while using both hands to hang on to his cane.  A very thoughtful employee came to this man's aid, carrying his breakfast to the table for him.  The elderly man was very thankful and appreciative to the hospital employee for this little kindness.  As I walked by I noticed that the man was wearing a baseball cap which had the words "World War II Veteran" embroidered in gold letters.

At my own table, I set my food down then approached this gentleman, who was obviously in his nineties.  I asked him if he had served in World War II, and he said he did.  He described briefly his tour of duty overseas and then told me of his pride in his fellow soldiers, and in America, as everyone came together and defeated the true world threat, Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Army.  I listened to him, then told him I was proud of his generation and thankful for their service to America.  He shook my hand and I left him then to his breakfast.  But he was a joy to speak with, and he is one of the last of those great men and women.

One thing I expressed to this brave man was my own regret that I had never volunteered to serve in the armed forces, and I expressed to him my gratitude for what he had done.  But especially I told him that I truly believed that his was America's greatest generation.  I told him that, knowing myself, I did not believe I could have survived in the conditions he endured.  He just smiled and said he thought I and Americans of my generation would have stood strong just like his generation did.  As I left him to his breakfast, I thought to myself how blessed I was to have met him and talked with him.  Veterans of World War II are mostly gone now, but what great people they were.  We should be very proud of this man and others like him.

God Bless America

Jade Helm Over - What Next Conspiracy?

Consider the following verse from the Good Book, Isaiah 8:12-13
12 Do not call conspiracy

everything this people calls a conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,

and do not dread it.

13The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,

he is the one you are to fear,

he is the one you are to dread.

 

God, through Isaiah's mouth, has just taken the wind right out of my sail.  I mean, do not call everything a "conspiracy"?!  C'mon!  Many of us THRIVE on conspiracies!  Jade Helm kept me going for MONTHS!!  The "Government" was about to take over, martial law on the threshold, and football season was coming, to boot.  July 15th was the day it was supposed to start, and it did.  There were some minor troop movements around Big Spring, which is about forty miles east of my humble abode.  Over in Bastrop, the special forces did their thing, but over all it was pretty quiet.  If anything, the usual summer movement of National Guard troops and assets was less than usual. Down in Houston, way out west in El Paso, and at many other points across the state, troop maneuvers could be seen, but only barely. 

 

Soon it was August 15th.  I was STILL waiting for those dang Government troops to come and get me.  I had even made arrangements with one of my police friends (not joking!) that if I were to "disappear" he could have my trusty little AK-47 and ammunition for said weapon.  I can tell you that he, for one, was hoping that it was not just a "conspiracy theory."  My police friend had his eye on my little rifle.  And I was still reading the news, reading things on the Internet, and watching "uncensored" news on Youtube, and waiting for that knock at the door or that bang in the night, when "they" came to get me. 

 

Then, one Sunday in September, the preacher started his lesson with the above scripture.  I could not believe it.  I was familiar with some of Preacher Isaiah's words, but not particularly with Isaiah Chapter 8:12 and :13.  And I was dumbstruck.  There went the air right out of my sailboat.  My preacher said, "Do not even pay attention to those conspiracy theories.  People are always afraid of something, always predicting the end of the world."  Sure, people were doing that here in the good ol' US of A in 2015, but it turns out the "Children of Israel" were apparently doing the same thing several hundred years before the birth of our Savior.  Who would have thought?  Conspiracy theories and predictions of gloom and doom way back in the Ancient Days! 

 

You know what?  The answer was the same back then as it is now.  Don't call "conspiracy" what everyone else is calling conspiracy, and don't fear what others fear.  Those "others" are people who either don't have hope or who have let this world choke down their hope.  I think I am in the latter category.  I find that I enjoy a good conspiracy as much as the next guy.  And, on a more serious note, I am concerned, along with many other people, about the direction our country is taking, which in my opinion, is straight down hill like a "snowball headed for Hell" ala Merle Haggard.  Then along comes the preacher preaching Isaiah Chapter 8.  That preacher just flat took all the fun out of being a conspiracy theory fan.  But the preacher, and Isaiah, had another message.  Do not fear the things people who are OF this world fear.  And do not fret about conspiracies and other such ideas.  Instead, fear (respect and revere) God; otherwise, do not fear at all, as worldly men fear.

 

Rats.  As hard as it is going to be for me, I am going to have to let my conspiracy-believing, gloom and doom mongering, underground-news and video subscribing, pessimism-oriented personality fade away into the background and come back into the sunshine.  Yes, many things ARE going bad in this nation, but many things are going good, too.  Yes, the economy is in a mess, but it is not unsalvageable; neither is our nation lost...yet.  Maybe our nation will make a great awakening, a great turn-around, and we will see the best times we have ever seen.  OR...maybe the nation will continue its slide downward from a democratic republic to a fascist dictatorship.  I will do my part as a citizen to promote the continuance of this nation as a free republic, but, no matter what may happen, the thing to remember is that we should not fear "the Government," the "secret ruling elite," or any other man-made problem, but instead we should rely on God and trust in Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

 

So...the wind is gone from my conspiracy sailboat...but actually it is not so bad.  I can switch back to mundane worries, like "dang, I forgot to pay the bills on time again" and that sort of thing.  It is good, though, to know that we who may have been worried about conspiracies and takeovers and that sort of rot, are actually in good company.  Even the direct, by-blood, Children of Abraham had their conspiracy theories. and their fears that their nation was about to collapse.  

 

Jade Helm, the Operation, is over.  It appears that the United States survived this three-month ordeal.  Do I think that it is possible that the "Government" may someday swallow up this nation and declare martial law?  Could it be sooner than later?  Of course.  Anything is possible.  And, unfortunately, many of our leaders and the other world leaders as well, are power hungry and may well be trying to set up a mechanism to subjugate the United States and other nations into a "one-world" government.  But, will I continue to dread it, to fear it, to waste more time on trying to unravel these and other conspiracies?  No...I will not.  Life is too short.  Jade Helm is over.  What next conspiracy?  I think..none for me this time around.  Just trusting in the Good Shepherd, and living in fear (respect and reverence) of God should keep me busy enough (and content enough!) so that I have not enough time to worry about the next conspiracy.

 

God Bless America.