Dear Church,
I hope this letter finds you full of good food and good times with family and friends. I think I’ve shared this with you before, but this whole Thanksgiving weekend is my favorite string of days throughout the whole year. Sarah and I were married the day after Thanksgiving back in 2007. The whole rhythm of eating, napping, watching the Lions and eating again is heavenly. We ran in our first annual First Church Turkey Trot that made all the calories eaten later that day, just a little sweeter. And, at least for the past several years, I’ve played in a tackle football game pitting thoseHollandkids who went toEastMiddle Schoolagainst those kids who went toWestMiddle School. Keep in mind, I don’t have the best insurance, so when a 240 pound 20 year old comes barreling down on me, I more often than not play the part of a bull fighter waving a red cape and get out of the way! Yup, these are some of the best days of the year for your pastor.
But as I was thinking about the series of fun events over the next few days, I couldn’t help but think about my friend Jon. Jon is right now serving in the Army and is stationed inAfghanistan. To be more specific, he’s in theKandaharregion ofAfghanistan, which if you keep up with current events you know, when things go down inAfghanistan, they go down in theKandaharregion. I met Jon a few years ago while in Seminary; he’s actually the brother of a really good friend and we just sorta hit it off. We lost touch for a few years, but have recently been reconnected. He’s without a Church home and a pastor, so while he was stateside for a three week leave, I asked if I could be his surrogate pastor. He graciously obliged. So, I’ve been praying for Jon every day since November 7, the day when he went back toAfghanistan. I like Jon because he’s a straight-shooter. When we were together, he was telling me about some of his experiences, which from what I’ve been told is not that common for people serving in the military. Jon told me that he honestly doesn’t like to tell others how downright scary things are over there simply because he doesn’t want people to worry. But for some reason, Jon gave me the humbling privilege to hear part of his experiences. He shared with me things like the sheer culture shock it was to go from living in absolute squander to the sheer abundance back home. Things like Afghani people literally bathing in rivers that American forces use to dispose of human feces. Things like witnessing good friends get wounded, or sometimes, even worse. So I keep praying and emailing. Every few days or so, I’ll get a quick two sentence email from Jon, sometimes just letting me know he’s okay.
I can’t even imagine what that life is like. I never had a grandparent who served in the military to tell me stories. My best mental pictures come from movies like “The Hurt Locker” or “Band of Bothers.” But for Jon and thousands of forces protecting our freedom around the world, this is their reality. Can you imagine for one minute eating some dehydrated block of food out of a brown bag instead of turkey and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving? I want to throw myself a pity party just thinking about it. So as I’m filling my face with turkey and mashed potatoes and pie, I’m going to be thinking about Jon. And, I’d encourage you to think of our men and women serving around the globe who won’t be able to see family and friends this Thanksgiving. And when your Thanksgiving prayer is being lifted up, why don’t you go ahead and think about those friends who have decided to be part of something larger than themselves. This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for Jon.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Matt
