Well, Nathan has graduated from Basic Training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and is now en route to Fort Gordon, Georgia for 18 weeks of training for his MOS (Military Occupation Specialty). John, Sherry, Brooklyn, and I are on our way home.
Nathan's graduation ceremony was impressive. 215 other young men and women, from 37 states and 3 countries (if my memory is correct), ranging in age from 17 to 38 years, graduated along with Nathan. They marched throughout Baker Theater, calling out their cadence, until they came to the section reserved for them and sat down, as one person. Periodically, a Drill Instructor would say something and the entire company would respond in unison. Each platoon was called up, with their Drill Instructor calling out a cadence to which they would respond as they marched up to the stage. After they were assembled on the stage, each soldier came forward and gave his/her rank, last name, and home state (or country, as the case may be...Jamaica, North Korea, and South Korea were represented in addition to the U.S.A.), then marched back to his/her seat. Each soldier was acknowledged by the applause and cheers of his/her family and/or friends in attendance. When each platoon was finished, the entire theater broke out in cheers and applause. What impressed me about this ceremony was that all 216 soldiers marched, sang, sat down, and stood up as one person. I had a very strong reaction to this, which I could not have imagined prior to witnessing it. My heart was stirred within me, tears sprang to my eyes, and I became aware that I was not only overwhelmed with pride, I felt that I was part of all this. I was not prepared for the strength of my reaction, of my feelings. I am not talking about patriotism here. I am talking about esprit de corps ("the feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty shared by the members of a particular group; literally 'spirit of the body'"). Whatever your opinion of the Army (or of the military in general), one thing in which they excel is to instill within each soldier the importance of the other. To understand they are each a part of something bigger than their individual selves. All of their creeds and cadences convey this idea. They speak of loyalty to country, to company, to comrades.
This idea goes beyond the cadences to which they keep time as they march. Every aspect of Basic Training is designed to get each soldier to think of him or herself as part of a company, a team; dedicated to a common goal and common ideals. You might say, "that is nothing new, the Army has always done that", and you would be correct, but it is new to Nathan. Not the ideals of selflessness, service, loyalty, cooperation, or thinking of others more highly than oneself, because John and I have tried to teach and model these ideals to Nathan all his life. He also attended a vibrant church more than half his life, and attended private Christian schools where these same ideals were valued and promoted. They just didn't seem to stick. As an only child with a very independent nature, Nathan's frequent response to anything we tried to teach him was, "I know!" Then he would often proceed to do what he wanted. He has been resistant to mostly everyone in authority over him most of his life. I was shocked when he said he wanted to join the Army and I wondered whether he would succeed. I prayed he would. I prayed that through this experience God would accomplish His purpose in and through my son.
My son has only just finished Basic Training. He has barely begun his 4 years of service, but I have already noticed changes in Nathan. To anyone else, those changes may seem too small to be significant, but I choose to stand in faith that they are a foretaste of things to come. One of the changes I noticed was the way Nathan carried himself. It wasn't just the way he stood up straight. He seemed to walk with purpose and confidence, like someone who has somewhere to go and knows how to get there. Prior to joining the Army, he just seemed to amble. He had an air of "whatever" about him. I did not notice any of that in his walk or his demeanor upon graduating.
A changed walk or demeanor is not all that is needed, there is more work yet to be done, but isn't that true of all of us? We are all on a journey and each of us is on a different leg of that journey. Remember, "life is a highway"? As John, Sherry, Brooklyn, and I passed through Effingham County (in Illinois) today (08/08/08) on our journey home, I saw a water tower upon which was written the words: "Crossroads of Opportunity". I believe that is where Nathan is on his journey right now, at the crossroads of opportunity. He has a decision to make; an opportunity to become all he is meant to be (in God, not just in the Army), or to continue in the same attitudes and patterns of behavior that were not really working for him.
Each of us has this same opportunity. As we travel down the highway of our lives, we will encounter many crossroads of opportunity. By God's grace we will make the most of the opportunities He presents to each of us. By God's grace, we will always move toward growth in Him. That is my prayer for Nathan, for myself, for you.
4 comments:
Kathie--that was just lovely.
I have read a lot of books about soldiers in combat, and one thing that has always stood out to me is, as you say, that esprit de corps.
I remember one quote, in particular--it was from a man fighting in Vietnam, and he said: "We didn't fight for the ideals, or the congressman, or even American, necessarily. We fought for the man standing next to us. It was that simple."
I am so happy that Nathan is on this path; I can't wait to hear of the good things God continues to do in him.
How is Nathan's wife doing with him gone? Is she living alone with Brooklyn?
just read my comment--sorry for all the typos! :-/
Kathie I can relate to this a little bit as this summer I watched my daughter's graduation ceremony from high school. She has horrible agoraphobia (thus you haven't seen me in church recently), and she could have chosen not to participate in the ceremony if she wanted. Even so, I pretty much held her hand all the way through it until she was up on stage, and there was a school nurse stationed nearby, but I was very proud that she had made the commitment to stand up with her peers and acknowledge what for her is a profound milestone.
But the sense of purpose that you were talking about, it was the first time I had felt that so acutely for her. She had made the original decision to return to being accountable to a school authority (after we adopted her, she home schooled for several years), and even though her curriculum was delivered though cyber technology in our house, it was still a really big deal for her to have to complete state set standards, deal with deadlines set by someone else, and communicate with her teachers and other strangers in the school.
The graduation ceremony was the first time she really met some of her classmates, but there was a lot of satisfaction in watching them all rise as a group and hearing the speaker discuss the expectation of their contribution in the world. You could see on their faces how they felt like they were part of something important.
This is a school that really emphasizes leadership and community service, and it really affected her in such a positive way in terms of helping her develop an avocation for her life. I really have to give all the credit to god for leading us to this school and helping her choose to enroll, plus seeing us through all the ups and downs as she finished the program.
I had been so afraid that she might never even make it this far, and I still have a lot of days when I wonder what the best way is to try to access her potential, but this is one of those situations where I have had to really let go and let god, and try to feel his peace.
Crossroads is definitely a good way to describe our current position, but I just have to keep the faith that he will continue to guide us no matter how apprehensive I might be that our hold on something finally positive is very tenuous.
Thanks for your comments, guys.
Jess, thank you for the encouragement, and thanks for asking about Sherry. She feels like a single mom, and I guess she is, though only temporarily. Nathan is finished Basic now, but he still has 18 weeks away from his family while he is in Georgia for school. I think it is difficult for Sherry, but she is coping. We take Brooklyn every weekend to give her a break and we take her on errands. She sometimes stays with her mom, or has a sister stay with her for company, and sometimes she comes over our house. Your prayers for them would be appreciated. It is certainly a challenge for her, I am sure she must be lonely, but she is handling it well, I think.
s.a., I cannot imagine what it must be like for your daughter to go through this, what it must be like for you, too. What an accomplishment for her, especially considering the circumstances. Congratulations to all of you, because certainly this was a team effort! I will pray for you.
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