This program came to mind while I was eating my breakfast this morning, staring out at the rain-soaked trees dropping their leaves on the green grass of the far west suburbs of Chicago. How in the world did I get to this exact spot on this exact day?
The short answer is “the sovereignty of God.” But a couple of the connections can be listed as Jesus and US veterans.
God’s provision for my life and eternity can be directly attributed to Jesus’ death and resurrection. The many connections He had to plan for me to get to the Cross of Jesus included the second major connection … US veterans.
When I was 10 years old, my father was a pastor in a very small church in Montana. There were weeks we apparently lived on the good graces of congregants who canned for the winter. Dad was at the edge of the age he would be allowed to still enter the Air Force, so that’s what he did. At the age of 35, he used his career field to enter the Air Force as a chaplain.
I am extremely grateful that the Air Force provided for our family for the remaining years I was at home, and many years after. We were able to see parts of the country...and the world...we may have never seen. From Montana to Minnesota. From Minnesota to Washington. From Washington to Yokota Japan. From Japan to Kansas City. At that point I graduated from high school and went to college, but Dad was stationed at Greenland, Germany, Sacramento, Klamath Falls, and Las Vegas before he retired.
It was in Sacramento that I rejoined the family after graduating from college. And that’s where another veteran entered my life.
After he graduated from high school, Mark had hoped to go to communication school for radio. Alas, his draft number came up … remember those? He decided to preempt the Army’s long arm and enlisted in the Air Force instead. After a stint in Sacramento and Iceland, he resettled near the Air Force base in Sacramento.
Dad … chaplain at McClellan. Mark … singing in the chapel choir as a recently separated sergeant. (and by “separated” I mean from the Air Force!) Mom introduces us, and the rest, as they say, is history.
But the connections that God orchestrated are indeed mind boggling. Had there been any missteps along the way, I would not have been sitting here enjoying my breakfast, sipping my coffee, staring at a view and man I’ve come to love.
On this Veterans Day 2021, I thank God for Jesus and veterans!
