What is your purpose ? What are you living ? Is it worth fighting for ? Is it worth dying for ? I ask these questions because as I sit here typing on my computer again I realize that for the time I've been home only part of the time have I been living for something bigger then myself.
For a while I was without purpose, without something worth living for, and frankly nothing that was worth giving my life for. For reasons without understanding I felt the need to talk about purpose, about making our lives count for something bigger then ourselves. As Christians we are called to make our lives count, to have an impact in the community that we are apart of. I struggle with this probably more then I should, but I'm not perfect so my guess is I will struggle with this for the rest of my life. One thing I've come to realize is that when my life is spent I want to that it made an impact around those around me, that I lived for something more then myself.
Over the course of the summer I read a book called Radical which really helped change my perspective on what I was living for. Today as I sat down to play a computer game I sat staring at my screen like what typically happens then I asked myself, "What's my purpose?" , "What I'm living for ?" I know when I was in the military I had a purpose and I knew what I was living for, but now that I'm out I struggle with finding my purpose and as a student it's hard because you life is can be consumed in a matter of minutes. I think some people would say that college is my purpose right now, but in truth that doesn't fill the void in me right now. I can tell you what would fill the void which is knowing that my life has a purpose to it right and that I'm living for something bigger then myself. What does this mean ? I believe it means that I take a serious look at my heart and my motives to see if they are self serving or God honoring.
I look at my day to day life at home and at school, what I come up with just frustrates me. My school routine looks like going to school, hanging out in the Veteran's Center till class mean while I sit there talking about what we( by we I mean vets) have done. This I know needs to change and change now it must. Last spring I watched a movie that challenged me more then anything had in a long time. I think it's time to watch that movie again. The movie was To Save a Life and I think it's time I take a peek at that movie again. As I wander the halls of my campus at Lake Superior College I see a lot of people just sitting a lone with no one to talk to or hang out with. To many times in my time I have been that person just wishing for someone to come a long to talk to me, to hang and share life even if it's only for a day. At home it's a different story because more times then I care to, once I get home I'm ready to leave again. It's just different and I'm not really sure how to explain, wish I could though.
So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to stop hanging out in the Veterans' Center all the even though I truly feel comfortable in there because everyone in there has been to either Iraq and Afghanistan. Therefore they understand what a guy like me has been through in more ways then one. What I intend to do is making connections with people who need someone to talk to, hang out with while at school, or just eat lunch with. Crazy it is I think at times how God shows us what's going on at our campus and is like HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANYONE HOME?!?!?!?!?!?!? ;)
So what are you going to do ? Are you going to make your life something more then just about you ? Is your life going to make that difference ? Are you going to make an impact ? Are you going to let God work through you ? Or are you just going to sink back into your normal life. I know what I'm going to do, how about you!
© Nathan Fahlin
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
With or without hope
Where to start. Well think I know and that is everyone needs hope. They generally don't need to be told what they are doing wrong, but what they need is hope. We were designed to have hope in our lives it's just how we were created.
So with hope or without hope. It's your choice. I want hope because this is what happens without. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, we don't believe it's possible for our current situations whatever they that they can change. We need hope there is just no way around it, I don't care who you are we need hope. God created us to have hope and by denying hope we are saying that our situations will never change at all. For me hope is the reason why I have faith. If you are a person with faith and hope then you might as well be unstoppable. See we will all have times in our lives or have had where we have felt hopeless or near hopelessness, but the reality is if we have hope then add faith in God where can stand against us.
I've recently engaged in two different conversations with two very different people talking about hope and what it does to us. In both conversations either both or one of the people felt hopeless that their current situation couldn't change. I know one of these people very well and we've had many conversations about changing their situation. It becomes difficult when there is a mountain of stuff that they have to deal with. That's why we need hope. I realize it more and more when I talk to other people who either don't have hope or who have hope. It is such an important part of who we are that God designed us to have hope. Hope is so important God said this in Isaiah 40:31"31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." This is why we need to put our hope in the Lord.
This is what I've experienced honestly. There was a time where I was just about without hope. It came at a time where my faith was just about dead and spiritually I was an absolute mess. I remember just feeling at a lose for all things even my faith in God was dwindling to the point where I said, "I'm beginning to doubt that there isn't a God." There was just so much pain and hurt at that time in my life and this was all be getting deployed to Iraq. I remember walking into drill and talking to a buddy saying what I just said about doubting there is a God and this is what my buddy said something along the lines of this, "There is a God and we have to have faith in Him." What that did to me at the time I didn't understand, but now I have a clearer thought of it. That little comment gave me hope, a hope that continued to push me forward in all areas of my life at that time. God used that conversation to keep me on the path that He already designed for me. Where would I be if I had lost hope ? That's a good question and I shudder to think where I would be honestly.
So have hope because if a guy like me who's been through combat, wounded, and several close calls can have hope then you can to. In no way am I making fun of any situations that people are dealing with. I'm just asking that you have hope and put your hope in God and his son Jesus Christ who has paid the price for us and our sins. So here's what I say. Have hope and have faith not simply because that's the way were designed, but because our hope and faith our in God. I know our situations can look grim, but you know what with hope there is always the chance that they will change.
© Nathan Fahlin
So with hope or without hope. It's your choice. I want hope because this is what happens without. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, we don't believe it's possible for our current situations whatever they that they can change. We need hope there is just no way around it, I don't care who you are we need hope. God created us to have hope and by denying hope we are saying that our situations will never change at all. For me hope is the reason why I have faith. If you are a person with faith and hope then you might as well be unstoppable. See we will all have times in our lives or have had where we have felt hopeless or near hopelessness, but the reality is if we have hope then add faith in God where can stand against us.
I've recently engaged in two different conversations with two very different people talking about hope and what it does to us. In both conversations either both or one of the people felt hopeless that their current situation couldn't change. I know one of these people very well and we've had many conversations about changing their situation. It becomes difficult when there is a mountain of stuff that they have to deal with. That's why we need hope. I realize it more and more when I talk to other people who either don't have hope or who have hope. It is such an important part of who we are that God designed us to have hope. Hope is so important God said this in Isaiah 40:31"31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." This is why we need to put our hope in the Lord.
This is what I've experienced honestly. There was a time where I was just about without hope. It came at a time where my faith was just about dead and spiritually I was an absolute mess. I remember just feeling at a lose for all things even my faith in God was dwindling to the point where I said, "I'm beginning to doubt that there isn't a God." There was just so much pain and hurt at that time in my life and this was all be getting deployed to Iraq. I remember walking into drill and talking to a buddy saying what I just said about doubting there is a God and this is what my buddy said something along the lines of this, "There is a God and we have to have faith in Him." What that did to me at the time I didn't understand, but now I have a clearer thought of it. That little comment gave me hope, a hope that continued to push me forward in all areas of my life at that time. God used that conversation to keep me on the path that He already designed for me. Where would I be if I had lost hope ? That's a good question and I shudder to think where I would be honestly.
So have hope because if a guy like me who's been through combat, wounded, and several close calls can have hope then you can to. In no way am I making fun of any situations that people are dealing with. I'm just asking that you have hope and put your hope in God and his son Jesus Christ who has paid the price for us and our sins. So here's what I say. Have hope and have faith not simply because that's the way were designed, but because our hope and faith our in God. I know our situations can look grim, but you know what with hope there is always the chance that they will change.
© Nathan Fahlin
Monday, September 5, 2011
Normal or common
Hopefully this will shed some light on things that veterans have to deal when coming home from war. Stuff that maybe most people don't understand, don't realize or for whatever reason are just clueless. I'm going to talk what's common among veterans as I'm still learning myself because this is still something that I'm learning about.
After a handful of doctor appointments to the VA hospital in Minneapolis and Superior along with more hours logged in my truck driving I dare say that I have a better grasp on what's common among veterans who've returned from war. My tolerance for people is lower then what is has been simply because I do not tolerate others as much along with my lack of tolerance comes an irritability with people who don't educate themselves.
These are probably two that I struggle most with for many reasons. Tolerance is one of those things that I generally don't have a problem with unless the people I'm talking to haven't educated themselves on the topic they are talking about. The truth is if you haven't taken the time to research and educate yourself on the topic that's being talked about then my tolerance for you just got a whole lot lower. I see to many people looking for society, media, and other sources to educate themselves instead of doing the work themselves. This is also were I have a problem with social media devices too. I know it's not right and that's something I do struggle with and it's going to take sometime to change that. It's frustrating at times because there are people that I like, but for most my tolerances have gone which makes spending time with them tough.
Irritability comes up a lot when I'm driving. I joke around with people who know me about driving and how much other people irritate me with the way they drive or lack of their ability. I'll be the first say I'm not the best driver, but when you're merging in and out of traffic seriously get off your cell phone. This is one area that has seen more improvement because I know it needs to change because I've watched myself do some weird things while driving and the irritability level just goes through the roof.
I didn't mention this one up above like I did the other two, but arguably this topic is probably I struggle with more then anything else and the one I have made the least amount of progress with. Isolation. It sucks and I really don't like feeling isolated. For the majority of August I felt isolated among just about any group of people I hung out with minus veterans for obvious reasons. I can recall several times where I was around people who I call friend, but just totally isolated in the group I was in. It drove me nuts because I all I wanted was to be welcomed. There was a couple times in August that I honestly just wanted to leave because it was just to hard to hang the people I was with and I'm talking about good friends who've proven themselves worthy of a friendship. What makes a person want to do that you might ask ? I won't go into that topic because that is a can of worms I don't wanna open this morning.
I truly do believe there is a reason why I'm around the body of believer that I am with right now because without them I believe I might be lost and ever searching, but would I find what I was looking I dunno. It's been a long road so far, but what's happened is truly amazing so far if you ask me. Well I suppose it's time to rap this up and that okay. It was good to get this out and into the open. I do enjoy writing like this because I get to talk about topics that I actually like. Have a good day and God Bless!:)
© Nathan Fahlin
After a handful of doctor appointments to the VA hospital in Minneapolis and Superior along with more hours logged in my truck driving I dare say that I have a better grasp on what's common among veterans who've returned from war. My tolerance for people is lower then what is has been simply because I do not tolerate others as much along with my lack of tolerance comes an irritability with people who don't educate themselves.
These are probably two that I struggle most with for many reasons. Tolerance is one of those things that I generally don't have a problem with unless the people I'm talking to haven't educated themselves on the topic they are talking about. The truth is if you haven't taken the time to research and educate yourself on the topic that's being talked about then my tolerance for you just got a whole lot lower. I see to many people looking for society, media, and other sources to educate themselves instead of doing the work themselves. This is also were I have a problem with social media devices too. I know it's not right and that's something I do struggle with and it's going to take sometime to change that. It's frustrating at times because there are people that I like, but for most my tolerances have gone which makes spending time with them tough.
Irritability comes up a lot when I'm driving. I joke around with people who know me about driving and how much other people irritate me with the way they drive or lack of their ability. I'll be the first say I'm not the best driver, but when you're merging in and out of traffic seriously get off your cell phone. This is one area that has seen more improvement because I know it needs to change because I've watched myself do some weird things while driving and the irritability level just goes through the roof.
I didn't mention this one up above like I did the other two, but arguably this topic is probably I struggle with more then anything else and the one I have made the least amount of progress with. Isolation. It sucks and I really don't like feeling isolated. For the majority of August I felt isolated among just about any group of people I hung out with minus veterans for obvious reasons. I can recall several times where I was around people who I call friend, but just totally isolated in the group I was in. It drove me nuts because I all I wanted was to be welcomed. There was a couple times in August that I honestly just wanted to leave because it was just to hard to hang the people I was with and I'm talking about good friends who've proven themselves worthy of a friendship. What makes a person want to do that you might ask ? I won't go into that topic because that is a can of worms I don't wanna open this morning.
I truly do believe there is a reason why I'm around the body of believer that I am with right now because without them I believe I might be lost and ever searching, but would I find what I was looking I dunno. It's been a long road so far, but what's happened is truly amazing so far if you ask me. Well I suppose it's time to rap this up and that okay. It was good to get this out and into the open. I do enjoy writing like this because I get to talk about topics that I actually like. Have a good day and God Bless!:)
© Nathan Fahlin
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I've been wanting to do another post, but haven't liked to much what I've been writing about so up until now I've scrapped every idea that came out for some reason or another. Now I think I finally have a topic to talk about, but it's not one I'm very fond of honestly.
Today was a pretty good day overall. Started out well with rollerblading with a friend, then came home ate more food lol, got my room in order, put in a few more job applications, and hung out with friends. The more I continue to push forward with the doctor appointments with the VA the tougher it gets for me to control my mood, it seems more then often my days shrink away and I'm left feeling isolated. Here are some pretty cold hard truths about me: 1) I don't trust people easily because I was burned my a close friend from my high school days, 2) I have struggled with rejection and acceptance most of my life, 3) I struggle trusting God and myself. It's hard for me to share this with others, but it's all a part of me right now. Do I like these thing ? No, I want change to happen, but I'm just not sure where to start.
There are a lot of positives about me and who I am along with my relationship with Jesus and God. There has been a lot of frustration lately and I'm not sure what I can do about it. I look at my peers meaning other Christians who I'm around, but not really my age because we're two very different groups. And I think wow could I be more different from these people ? One thing I do love that God is doing which is how He's using the body of believers that He has put around me in this time of my life to help guide me, teach me, and use me in many different ways. The truth is God really knows what he's doing and I say that with all the confidence in my heart. I've got some great godly men and women around, peers who really love God and not just on the surface, they continue to push me in ways that help propel me with my walk with God and Jesus. I do believe that God is using this time in my life to teach me a lot of different things and I don't really know why exactly, but I know He does.
It's different when people who are your peers thank for your service to your country. A good example of this is a woman I know who is probably only twenty or so has thanked me for my service on two different occasions. The first time she did this I appreciated it, the second time and I don't know, but I burst into laughter(maybe because I knew it was coming!!). It's just really difficult to interact with a group of people when you really don't have any of the same experiences as them. They are at the age I was when I getting ready to deploy to Iraq or when I was in Iraq fighting for my country. How strange is that ? Really! I'm mean seriously one of probably my closest friends was in 10th grade when I was in Iraq. Now tell me that isn't strange at all and what's funny is I can continue on and on with stuff that just doesn't make sense at all with what I'm experiencing now in my life. Well it's 00:34 or 12:34 for you non military types which means it's time for this guy to get some sleep. Good night and sleep tight.
© Nathan Fahlin
Today was a pretty good day overall. Started out well with rollerblading with a friend, then came home ate more food lol, got my room in order, put in a few more job applications, and hung out with friends. The more I continue to push forward with the doctor appointments with the VA the tougher it gets for me to control my mood, it seems more then often my days shrink away and I'm left feeling isolated. Here are some pretty cold hard truths about me: 1) I don't trust people easily because I was burned my a close friend from my high school days, 2) I have struggled with rejection and acceptance most of my life, 3) I struggle trusting God and myself. It's hard for me to share this with others, but it's all a part of me right now. Do I like these thing ? No, I want change to happen, but I'm just not sure where to start.
There are a lot of positives about me and who I am along with my relationship with Jesus and God. There has been a lot of frustration lately and I'm not sure what I can do about it. I look at my peers meaning other Christians who I'm around, but not really my age because we're two very different groups. And I think wow could I be more different from these people ? One thing I do love that God is doing which is how He's using the body of believers that He has put around me in this time of my life to help guide me, teach me, and use me in many different ways. The truth is God really knows what he's doing and I say that with all the confidence in my heart. I've got some great godly men and women around, peers who really love God and not just on the surface, they continue to push me in ways that help propel me with my walk with God and Jesus. I do believe that God is using this time in my life to teach me a lot of different things and I don't really know why exactly, but I know He does.
It's different when people who are your peers thank for your service to your country. A good example of this is a woman I know who is probably only twenty or so has thanked me for my service on two different occasions. The first time she did this I appreciated it, the second time and I don't know, but I burst into laughter(maybe because I knew it was coming!!). It's just really difficult to interact with a group of people when you really don't have any of the same experiences as them. They are at the age I was when I getting ready to deploy to Iraq or when I was in Iraq fighting for my country. How strange is that ? Really! I'm mean seriously one of probably my closest friends was in 10th grade when I was in Iraq. Now tell me that isn't strange at all and what's funny is I can continue on and on with stuff that just doesn't make sense at all with what I'm experiencing now in my life. Well it's 00:34 or 12:34 for you non military types which means it's time for this guy to get some sleep. Good night and sleep tight.
© Nathan Fahlin
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Normal or Not
It's that's simple if you ask me. I'm not going to define what normal or what is not normal, but what I want to do is to simply show you all the difference between safe and not safe...........maybe that's a better title oh well.
The general reality of this topic is that most people like to live safe and peaceful lives with the least amount of stress in their homes and families. See we have a choice to make in our lives and with what we do for our professions. I think the majority of people who rather work in an office building rather then do something dangerous like being a cop or fire fighter and if you wanna go really extreme look at the men and women who give their lives to being in the military. Lots of times these people are running toward the danger putting their own lives at risk to come and help others in their time of need. I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and why I choose what I do for a career.
For me it's all help severing whether it's for the country, state, city, or whatever it is. I made a choice a long time ago to be a soldier and I've taken an in depth look at that decision. I'm a protector through and through that's the way I've been wired. It's not really normal for people to be running toward burning building making sure people aren't trapped inside or running toward a fire fight where people are injured or possibly dying. Those things aren't natural for most people and therefore those who do those professions aren't normal, not that I'm saying being either is bad.
Now I'm going to take a turn here and talk about something that's very different, but to me it relates to this topic very clearly. See we have a choice as Christians to make as well. We have the choice to live a safe comfortable life in our homes or we can trust God and take a huge step of faith to live a life worth living. A life that will make an impact, a lasting impression around those who know us. See there are a lot of different views and thoughts as to how Christians choose to live their lives. For me it's all about making a difference, getting into the game, staying plugged in. What this means for me is putting my life into the hands God and trusting him that he will completely meet my needs, yet there is one small problem I like having things planned out. Trusting that God knows what's best for me and not leaning on my own understanding. I'm sure a lot of people would look at this and be like umm are you nuts ?, but this is again another piece of the puzzle showing others that who I am and what I want to do with my life is not normal. Does this mean that I want to be an overseas missionary no it does not, but what it does mean is that I don't want someone else doing what God wanted me to do in the first place.
I choose to answer the call God has put on my life, I choose to be different then the rest of my peers by living the life God has called me to live so that everything that I do is done for him. To me it's all being the difference maker, to get in the game. See to me we as followers of Jesus we were meant to be something more, we were meant to be courageous and passion about the kingdom. Well there it is this is the difference between living a comfortable christian life and a radical christian life. This is the choice to live in our big comfortable houses with more then what we need or to get something that fits our every need in a place where we can make a difference. I want to be that difference maker, I want to be live the live God has called me to whatever that is and wherever he takes me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM-gDcmJeM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8BBCYFAYRI&ob=av2e
© Nathan Fahlin
The general reality of this topic is that most people like to live safe and peaceful lives with the least amount of stress in their homes and families. See we have a choice to make in our lives and with what we do for our professions. I think the majority of people who rather work in an office building rather then do something dangerous like being a cop or fire fighter and if you wanna go really extreme look at the men and women who give their lives to being in the military. Lots of times these people are running toward the danger putting their own lives at risk to come and help others in their time of need. I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and why I choose what I do for a career.
For me it's all help severing whether it's for the country, state, city, or whatever it is. I made a choice a long time ago to be a soldier and I've taken an in depth look at that decision. I'm a protector through and through that's the way I've been wired. It's not really normal for people to be running toward burning building making sure people aren't trapped inside or running toward a fire fight where people are injured or possibly dying. Those things aren't natural for most people and therefore those who do those professions aren't normal, not that I'm saying being either is bad.
Now I'm going to take a turn here and talk about something that's very different, but to me it relates to this topic very clearly. See we have a choice as Christians to make as well. We have the choice to live a safe comfortable life in our homes or we can trust God and take a huge step of faith to live a life worth living. A life that will make an impact, a lasting impression around those who know us. See there are a lot of different views and thoughts as to how Christians choose to live their lives. For me it's all about making a difference, getting into the game, staying plugged in. What this means for me is putting my life into the hands God and trusting him that he will completely meet my needs, yet there is one small problem I like having things planned out. Trusting that God knows what's best for me and not leaning on my own understanding. I'm sure a lot of people would look at this and be like umm are you nuts ?, but this is again another piece of the puzzle showing others that who I am and what I want to do with my life is not normal. Does this mean that I want to be an overseas missionary no it does not, but what it does mean is that I don't want someone else doing what God wanted me to do in the first place.
I choose to answer the call God has put on my life, I choose to be different then the rest of my peers by living the life God has called me to live so that everything that I do is done for him. To me it's all being the difference maker, to get in the game. See to me we as followers of Jesus we were meant to be something more, we were meant to be courageous and passion about the kingdom. Well there it is this is the difference between living a comfortable christian life and a radical christian life. This is the choice to live in our big comfortable houses with more then what we need or to get something that fits our every need in a place where we can make a difference. I want to be that difference maker, I want to be live the live God has called me to whatever that is and wherever he takes me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM-gDcmJeM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8BBCYFAYRI&ob=av2e
© Nathan Fahlin
Friday, August 12, 2011
Marriage and Me(I guess)
Well this will certainly be a most interesting topic and maybe this is a little much, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Those of you who are following my blog will see a large portion of my heart and with that comes a certain vulnerability.
For some reason or another people think being that I'm 27 years old that I should be getting married and let me tell you right now if you think for one moment that you can try to set me up with someone you got another thing coming. There will probably a lot of baggage that comes out, but it's stuff that I deal with and no one seems to notice or if they do they just don't think that it's a big deal. Right now as it is I know I want to get married someday, but do I think I'm ready for another person to enter into my world right now that is a very good question, but I'm afraid to say only time will tell.
Lets get something straight right now and have a good hard look at the facts of me. I'm 27 years old who's already been through more then most people will experience in their entire lives in this country. In one night I was blown up by an I.E.D. E.F.P. (Improvised Explosive Device, Explosively Formed Penetrator) which should of killed all of us that night, but it didn't we survived. All three of us are walking miracles if you ask me and it's all thanks to God and that is something I 100% truly believe from the bottom of my heart. With these experiences comes certain side affects if you follow me here. There are a lot of things that I'm just now starting to deal with and trying to figure out what's going on with me so I can adapt and overcome this crap with hopes to preform better in college along with the rest of my life. This means that I simply don't have the background that a lot of the people I hang out with at my church and at college which makes times hard because I'm forced into a world where I don't feel comfortable. (I have close friends and they know what's really happening with me and let me tell you right now, better friends there are none. They continue to lift me up with encouragement, make me laugh, bring joy to gloomy days, display the right perspective that I need to have with life among other things. I have two of the best spiritual leaders a guy could ever ask for in my pastors. They continue to push me and challenge me in becoming more and more like Christ, becoming that Godly Man that I am needed to be. For that I'm truly grateful and yeah it's a bit of rant, but they need to know how much they mean to me.)
When people talk about marriage and me in the same sentence I tend to just shake my head because it's always at times in my life where frankly I'm at a low point or struggling with stuff. They have no idea what's going inside of me and I don't know if they just assume that I need a wife or a girlfriend or whatever and that is beyond my reasoning. Sometimes I wonder if they even consider what I would have to say before even opening their mouths. My first question is: "Do they know me well enough ?", "Will they accept my answer regardless of what it is?", and "Have they known me long enough to judge my character?" Every time someone presents me with the idea of dating woman these are the questions I ask myself to evaluate the worth of what they have to say. One thing that continually bugs is that people think since I'm 27 that I should be married, but the facts that I'm still in college, living at home, jobless jump out right away to me along with the facts that I hate the whole crap that comes with trying to figure out if people like you or they are just being nice. For me you best just spell it out sister cause this guy just doesn't read the signs or signals. HECK! You might as well use smoke signals or talk to me in a foreign language. I will say this if you want my attention because you like just blatantly tell me or I'm as likely to pass it over as being hit on and the truth is I don't much care for it. It maybe flattering, but that is not the way this guy rolls ya hear.
The truth is I have faults just like everyone and I know that I'm not prefect trust me, but I continue to push forward to achieve the goals that have been set before with school, life, and to continue to strive toward the glory of what it means to be more refined to the image of Christ Jesus. It brings me great comfort reading verses such as the one that talks about, "the good work that has begun in you will be brought to a completion and that I have run a race and have reached the goal." To me a guy who's looking at the possibility of being diagnosed with P.T.S.D. this brings me great comfort to know that someday it won't be there anymore along with the other issues I've dealt with from Iraq.
So I leave you all with this. Please refrain from trying to set me up with women and if you do dare to set me up then you best believe that you know me well enough to encourage a relationship or at least the pursuit of one. If you respect me then you will truly and carefully consider my character and whom I'm becoming as I continue to seek after Christ Jesus and continue to be reforged into his image. It is now 1:12 am and I am going to bed so good night and God Bless!
© Nathan Fahlin
For some reason or another people think being that I'm 27 years old that I should be getting married and let me tell you right now if you think for one moment that you can try to set me up with someone you got another thing coming. There will probably a lot of baggage that comes out, but it's stuff that I deal with and no one seems to notice or if they do they just don't think that it's a big deal. Right now as it is I know I want to get married someday, but do I think I'm ready for another person to enter into my world right now that is a very good question, but I'm afraid to say only time will tell.
Lets get something straight right now and have a good hard look at the facts of me. I'm 27 years old who's already been through more then most people will experience in their entire lives in this country. In one night I was blown up by an I.E.D. E.F.P. (Improvised Explosive Device, Explosively Formed Penetrator) which should of killed all of us that night, but it didn't we survived. All three of us are walking miracles if you ask me and it's all thanks to God and that is something I 100% truly believe from the bottom of my heart. With these experiences comes certain side affects if you follow me here. There are a lot of things that I'm just now starting to deal with and trying to figure out what's going on with me so I can adapt and overcome this crap with hopes to preform better in college along with the rest of my life. This means that I simply don't have the background that a lot of the people I hang out with at my church and at college which makes times hard because I'm forced into a world where I don't feel comfortable. (I have close friends and they know what's really happening with me and let me tell you right now, better friends there are none. They continue to lift me up with encouragement, make me laugh, bring joy to gloomy days, display the right perspective that I need to have with life among other things. I have two of the best spiritual leaders a guy could ever ask for in my pastors. They continue to push me and challenge me in becoming more and more like Christ, becoming that Godly Man that I am needed to be. For that I'm truly grateful and yeah it's a bit of rant, but they need to know how much they mean to me.)
When people talk about marriage and me in the same sentence I tend to just shake my head because it's always at times in my life where frankly I'm at a low point or struggling with stuff. They have no idea what's going inside of me and I don't know if they just assume that I need a wife or a girlfriend or whatever and that is beyond my reasoning. Sometimes I wonder if they even consider what I would have to say before even opening their mouths. My first question is: "Do they know me well enough ?", "Will they accept my answer regardless of what it is?", and "Have they known me long enough to judge my character?" Every time someone presents me with the idea of dating woman these are the questions I ask myself to evaluate the worth of what they have to say. One thing that continually bugs is that people think since I'm 27 that I should be married, but the facts that I'm still in college, living at home, jobless jump out right away to me along with the facts that I hate the whole crap that comes with trying to figure out if people like you or they are just being nice. For me you best just spell it out sister cause this guy just doesn't read the signs or signals. HECK! You might as well use smoke signals or talk to me in a foreign language. I will say this if you want my attention because you like just blatantly tell me or I'm as likely to pass it over as being hit on and the truth is I don't much care for it. It maybe flattering, but that is not the way this guy rolls ya hear.
The truth is I have faults just like everyone and I know that I'm not prefect trust me, but I continue to push forward to achieve the goals that have been set before with school, life, and to continue to strive toward the glory of what it means to be more refined to the image of Christ Jesus. It brings me great comfort reading verses such as the one that talks about, "the good work that has begun in you will be brought to a completion and that I have run a race and have reached the goal." To me a guy who's looking at the possibility of being diagnosed with P.T.S.D. this brings me great comfort to know that someday it won't be there anymore along with the other issues I've dealt with from Iraq.
So I leave you all with this. Please refrain from trying to set me up with women and if you do dare to set me up then you best believe that you know me well enough to encourage a relationship or at least the pursuit of one. If you respect me then you will truly and carefully consider my character and whom I'm becoming as I continue to seek after Christ Jesus and continue to be reforged into his image. It is now 1:12 am and I am going to bed so good night and God Bless!
© Nathan Fahlin
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Veterans and Society
Yeah this is going to probably tick some people off, but it needs to come out. The truth about two very different cultures and why both sides have an extremely hard time dealing with each other. I hinted about something in a previous post and this is exactly what I've been wanting to talk about.
So where to begin................oh I know lets take a trip through the past and lets look at what happened during the 60s and 70s with the treatment of veterans returning home from war. I specifically want to look back at the Vietnam era. Arguably this was the worst treatment of American service men and women then of any generation that had gone off to war( I'm not going into politics so don't bring it up if you comment, thank). What these veterans endured no one should of, but it happened I mean we're talking about sheep's blood being splashed on Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines a like, being spit on and mocked for fighting and dying for their country. It was a disaster and you know what history is about to repeat itself if we as a Nation aren't careful to watch the treatment of veterans. Oh by the way I knew an old Navy Masterchief who is a Vietnam Era veteran and he recalled returning home and having sheep's blood splash and that for me really brought the whole experience home about what happened to these Vietnam Era veterans.
I've talked to many Vietnam veterans and I must say they have much respect for what they went through when they came home from Vietnam. It was just absolutely terrible the way they were treated by their fellow countrymen. They probably have more of my respect then any other generation out there of veterans. I'm proud to have met the veterans from that era and all other veterans who have gone before me in service of this great nation.
So why the clashes between veterans and society ? Why do people continually feel the need to trash veterans for severing their country ? The clash seems to be stirred up once again and this time the veterans are completely different, but so far most of the conflict I believe have been with the veterans who specifically have P.T.S.D. (post traumatic stress disorder). I say this because everyone seems to think just because a veteran has P.T.S.D. that makes them crazy, untrustworthy, and blood thirsty killers or some dumb thing like that. I think people need to realize that if this continues we as a nation could be looking at a repeat of what happened during the Vietnam Era and to be just honest with ya'll I would not be surprised if that happened. Let's look at how long we've been in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iraq easily 9 years maybe closing in on 10 and Afghanistan 10 years closing in on 11. That is to long for the current forces in our nation's military to keep fighting and not have our servicemen and women having a lot of issues rising up from three or more deployments.
So here's the challenge. How do we as a nation help bridge the ever widening gap between society and our military members ? I think first and foremost we must educate ourselves better along with the news media that is doing the reporting of what's happening with our nation's veterans. A lot of people will never understand what we as Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen have faced while in Iraq or Afghanistan, but they should be able to educate themselves as to help them better grasp the reality of what is happening to them. Another sad truth is in the not to distant future most Americans probably won't want to join the military unless they know someone who was at some point in their life.
With all that's been said I must say I'm not to excited about the future and treatment by society and veterans a like simply because of the gap that is growing year by year. People don't feel the need to respect these brave men and women who put their lives on the line. Who've lost friends and have experienced more then most people in the United States will ever. Heck, we aren't a third world country, but that doesn't mean things don't need to change around. I hope you enjoyed reading because I truly enjoyed writing it. I pray that something is done to stop the ever widening gap between our veterans and society.
© Nathan Fahlin
So where to begin................oh I know lets take a trip through the past and lets look at what happened during the 60s and 70s with the treatment of veterans returning home from war. I specifically want to look back at the Vietnam era. Arguably this was the worst treatment of American service men and women then of any generation that had gone off to war( I'm not going into politics so don't bring it up if you comment, thank). What these veterans endured no one should of, but it happened I mean we're talking about sheep's blood being splashed on Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines a like, being spit on and mocked for fighting and dying for their country. It was a disaster and you know what history is about to repeat itself if we as a Nation aren't careful to watch the treatment of veterans. Oh by the way I knew an old Navy Masterchief who is a Vietnam Era veteran and he recalled returning home and having sheep's blood splash and that for me really brought the whole experience home about what happened to these Vietnam Era veterans.
I've talked to many Vietnam veterans and I must say they have much respect for what they went through when they came home from Vietnam. It was just absolutely terrible the way they were treated by their fellow countrymen. They probably have more of my respect then any other generation out there of veterans. I'm proud to have met the veterans from that era and all other veterans who have gone before me in service of this great nation.
So why the clashes between veterans and society ? Why do people continually feel the need to trash veterans for severing their country ? The clash seems to be stirred up once again and this time the veterans are completely different, but so far most of the conflict I believe have been with the veterans who specifically have P.T.S.D. (post traumatic stress disorder). I say this because everyone seems to think just because a veteran has P.T.S.D. that makes them crazy, untrustworthy, and blood thirsty killers or some dumb thing like that. I think people need to realize that if this continues we as a nation could be looking at a repeat of what happened during the Vietnam Era and to be just honest with ya'll I would not be surprised if that happened. Let's look at how long we've been in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iraq easily 9 years maybe closing in on 10 and Afghanistan 10 years closing in on 11. That is to long for the current forces in our nation's military to keep fighting and not have our servicemen and women having a lot of issues rising up from three or more deployments.
So here's the challenge. How do we as a nation help bridge the ever widening gap between society and our military members ? I think first and foremost we must educate ourselves better along with the news media that is doing the reporting of what's happening with our nation's veterans. A lot of people will never understand what we as Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen have faced while in Iraq or Afghanistan, but they should be able to educate themselves as to help them better grasp the reality of what is happening to them. Another sad truth is in the not to distant future most Americans probably won't want to join the military unless they know someone who was at some point in their life.
With all that's been said I must say I'm not to excited about the future and treatment by society and veterans a like simply because of the gap that is growing year by year. People don't feel the need to respect these brave men and women who put their lives on the line. Who've lost friends and have experienced more then most people in the United States will ever. Heck, we aren't a third world country, but that doesn't mean things don't need to change around. I hope you enjoyed reading because I truly enjoyed writing it. I pray that something is done to stop the ever widening gap between our veterans and society.
© Nathan Fahlin
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