Control & Faith

I was told (am still working on learning) a few things in Boot Camp: Marines do not get to choose the mission they’re assigned, where the mission will be conducted, or who they’ll execute the mission with. These things are generally applicable to all military and support personnel engaged in GWOT. Oh, I made choices all right, a series of choices: enlist, re-enlist, etc. It takes a lot of trust, apparently, to be a participant in life, and the intersection of the risk and the trust is dependant on the object of trust: God, country, Corps, unit, family, friends, wealth, status, self (courage, honor, strength, integrity, shrewdness, etc.) luck, chance, or a combination of some or all of the above.

My life as a Marine is more than a point on a graph where the x and y axis meet. The intersection between trust and risk determines the perceived significance/meaning or safety/control. It could be argued that at three points on the graph, we have no control at all—birth, taxes, and death. During other periods of life, we have little or limited control---infancy/childhood, sickness/infirmity, old age. I believe that God provides control in my life in both the former and latter, and I’d like to transfer trust and risk to Him—even (particularly) at times when I have choice. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Realizing I have little or no control, it makes sense to continue to acknowledge and put my trust in The One who does.

Semper Fi, Jon G.