It's OUR Turn To Help Our Troops

Today, as usual, I took a peek at my brother's blog. He usually has very interesting information and even though he's living each day under some pretty testing circumstances, he remains upbeat most of the time. But his recent post is quite different as well as disturbing. He is conveying a deep sadness that he is feeling about the soldiers that have been over in Iraq and Afghanistan. After reading his post and then doing some of my own research on the subject, I am not only sad but I'm downright ashamed of our country!

We drive around with bumper stickers that say, 'Support Our Troops', send emails to one another with sobering information and pictures about what they are enduring, and even hold benefits for their families while they're away. Year after stressful year we hear the leaders of our country talk of how these 'brave men and women need our support and prayer'. Meanwhile, our troops have our backs while we daily live our lives bathed in liberty and freedom here in the states. Great right? Well, before we give ourselves an 'atta boy' while we proudly display our American flags, you might want to do a bit of research on what our country is offering these brave men and women who are literally putting their lives on the line for you and me!

After coming home from the Vietnam war it took several years before our soldiers showed signs of mental distress. Yet our soldiers from this war in Iraq and Afghanistan are showing signs of mental illness, depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before they can even get home. They obviously need medical attention. But for them to get the ball rolling and get any help they may need, they have to first swallow the pride that they've been taught so well to wear, and admit that they are suffering. That alone is hard enough. I mean, imagine the degree of training they need to stand up in the face of the enemy and be prepared to fearlessly give their life for our country. They are your every day Joe and Jane, just like you and me, but they're coming home physically and mentally scarred. Those that have come back with mental disorders from what they've endured don't usually have obvious signs. Unless you're looking for them, to the average person, many symptoms are silent. But underneath the rough and tough exterior they carry such grief and despair that they have difficulty holding it together long enough to get through their own welcome home party. Inside they've changed, dramatically.

Yet, when they do try to get the much needed help, they are made to wait, having to muddle through so much red tape that it is literally months before they see any help. Or, from what I've read, they are not given the proper care because our country is trying to tighten it's belt? What is with that! We shell out millions to get the car industry's butt out of the fire but when the guys and gals that protect all of our butts need help, we can't afford it? Yes, that shames me and should shame the leaders of our country.

In a recent study, officials found that more than ¼ of our soldiers on repeat duty tours were found to exhibit symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems such as PTSD. The study also found that more soldiers were reporting marital difficulties and the suicide rate among troops has increased dramatically. Yet our country will not put into play the needed care and urgency or the red tape is keeping them from it. One article that I recently read at NaturalNews.com made me so shameful that I want to crawl in a hole. Apparently there are so many soldiers with PTSD that the following statement was made at the VA hospital in Texas,

"Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," wrote psychologist Norma J. Perez in an email to the staff of the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center in Temple, Texas. Saying that Veterans Affairs (VA) staffers "really don't ... have the time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD," Perez suggested that they should instead "consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder."Veterans diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder receive significantly less in the way of disability and health care benefits than those diagnosed with PTSD. An estimated 300,000 Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans are currently suffering from either PTSD or severe depression, according to the recent report by Rand Corp.

Read the full article here: http://naturalnews.com/023970.html

I'm angry! Have the leaders of our free country turned their backs on the very people who have ensured that they can enjoy that freedom? If so, how can WE help our soldiers? What can WE do for them that will make a difference? My brother is putting a challenge out there. He has proposed to start a fund to help them but neither he nor I know the first thing about how to do that. Please, if this issue has gripped your heart, take a trip over to my brothers blog. http://www.cancer-isnt-scary.blogspot.com/ and throw your ideas out there. Especially if any of you know how to initiate something like this, we sure could use your help.

For all who have read this far, apparently this is a subject that has peeked your interest. I ask that you please lift these brave men and women up in prayer. God can do a whole lot for them but He works through His people. Search your heart and see where God leads you. Thank you for caring and for any help you may be able to offer. God's best blessings to you.

The Fingerprints of God

I'm looking back, not that long ago, where I was in the middle of a deep dark depression like I'd never known before. Although friends kept telling me that God was there for me, I couldn't feel Him. What I felt was more like a dense fog dividing us that seemed impossible to penetrate. No matter what I did I just didn't feel that connection that I had known and now hungered for.

My life had taken several very serious jogs, where some had almost put me over the edge. As I dissected the previous weeks,months and even years, detail by detail I couldn't put my finger on anything significant that brought me to this frighteningly lonely place. Although I could credit part of it to my declining health and the fact that I was now 'disabled', I had been dealing with that for awhile now and I didn't think it was the cause of such a debilitating depression. But more importantly, God kept silent. There were so many issues that needed His help and each day of my life was getting so difficult that I just didn't know how much longer we could hang on. I couldn't work anymore so my husband was killing himself working at least 2 jobs and taking on anything else he could fit in to make ends meet. My back surgery had failed miserably and I was getting worse by the day. Our marriage was suffering from the daily arguments about the smallest things and fun and relaxation were just words that were spoken of in the past tense. The problems were consuming us both.

I continued to do what I thought I was supposed to do, pray, read my Bible and sometimes go to church. But God remained silent. Most of my prayers started with 'why'. "Why is this happening", or "Why aren't you there?" repeatedly pleading with God for His help. As Christians we are instructed to be thankful for everything, from our life, our home and family to just little things like having a meal to eat and clean water to drink. I continued to just maintain and even thanked God for all of those little things, just like I was instructed to as a child. But deep down I knew that those words were not coming from my heart. I was angry and frustrated and, yes, I felt sorry for myself. I thought things like, "why can't I have a pity party? I really AM getting dealt a bad hand. I HAVE gone through much more than most people my age! Heck, I have the right to feel this way! My world was crashing in and God is ignoring me!"

All that time, day in and day out I just went through the motions, saying the same stale prayer and waiting for God to fix it all. I wanted my life to be easier, with happy times just once in awhile and couldn't understand why any of this was happening to me, to us.

I had muddled through many years of my life claiming to be a Christian. I'd learned that the Bible is full of God's promises for His children to have healing and prosperity as we walk through life with Him. He says that 'we are the apple of His eye', that 'He'll never leave us or forsake us', and 'He will give us the desires of our heart', and many many more. It's strange because during this time, although my mind was flooded with questions and I was an emotional wreck, ultimately I didn't doubt God and His word. Even though I was unable to understand why, within myself I knew there was a reason that I was going through all of this.

Several years ago I had subscribed to a daily scripture email. As they came in each day, sometimes I read them and sometimes I didn't. When I did it was almost like I tried to get through them as quickly as possible. Almost like I was appeasing myself with what I knew I was supposed to do. But just like my prayers, my heart was not in that either. One day as I was going through the motions of reading the daily scripture I recognized this particular one from when I first came to know the Lord many years ago. My first response was the usual skimming over it and then closed my email to go on to other things. But as I did, the scripture kept running through my mind. It just kept repeating itself over and over until finally I stopped what I was doing and opened the email again. This time the scripture almost jumped off the page. Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." I thought, Lord this is a scripture that I've known almost my entire life. How can this be my answer? But then I read it again and this time I really read it. What it's saying is that if we make God the most important part of our lives, He WILL take care of ALL other things.

Yes, I had read this verse many times before, but I never committed to practicing what it says to do. I had accepted Christ but had I made Him first? I guess I had to admit the obvious. I was one of those convenience Christians. You know, the one's that use God when things go bad but other than that, you don't hear much about Him? I knew this fact but never wanted to admit it. I guess I wanted to try the easy road, use Him when I needed Him but I didn't want to commit to reading the Bible and regularly assembling with other Christians to learn about Him. Incidentally, it's not the easy road. It's actually harder but I didn't know that then.

I didn't know what to do first so I started to change the way I prayed. One of the hardest types of prayers to say are honest prayers. This type of prayer is the one where we tell Him our absolute true feelings. To me, that meant admitting to God many things. Admitting that my prayers to Him were not from my heart, that I'd only been 'going through the motions', and then I asked for His forgiveness. When talking honestly to God, we humble ourselves and tell Him how weak we are or that we don't believe in ourselves, if that's the case. We tell Him those things about ourselves that we're not so proud of or things that we wouldn't even say to our spouse or closest friend. It involves speaking to God about things that are difficult to say out loud, even when we're alone. It means digging deep within ourselves and admitting those faults that we try not to think about or speaking those secrets we hope never get spoken. They tend to stumble out of our mouths with hesitation and, if we're doing it right, sometimes even fear. This is a prayer of utter and complete honesty to Your Lord. It makes it easier to do it if we remind ourselves that we're not telling Him anything He doesn't already know but He needs us to trust and obey Him enough to do it.

As I knelt before Him and began to tell him those things that I had hidden deeply in my mind and heart, the tears came. As I opened myself up to Him and spoke the words that I had held back for so long, instead of increased apprehension and dread, what I felt was freedom along with peace like I've never experienced. This only made the way easier and allowed me to continue telling Him everything and needless to say the prayer went on for a very long time. Instead of the usual 'going through the motions' prayer, I spoke from my heart. I admitted to Him how much I wanted and needed His direction, His will and His power to change me into who He wanted me to be.

I'm still me with all of my little idiosyncrasy's, my flaws, my personality quirks and sins. But I want to be putty in His hands so His fingerprints are all over me.

I pour myself into whatever God leads me to do. Of course the problems in life still come but with them comes peace. I know that as long as I make Him first, He will give me everything I need and He has. He has blessed my life in ways I never thought were possible.

Yes, being a Christian does mean committing to make the Lord absolutely first. But with that comes a closeness with the creator of our universe. We put everything into His huge hands so we never have to be afraid or worry because we know that He has a plan for every jog in our life. We are never alone in anything we experience, good or bad. We WILL get through it because whatever 'it' is, it's a part of His master plan. It means that He has His fingerprints all over you and your life. It doesn't get any better than that!