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Battle Wounds/ UN International Day of Peace

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

When I think of battle wounds I think of the struggle between good and evil. A spiritual tug-of-war with angels on one side of us and demons on the other. Since I’m a Christian I don’t see this tug-of-war as a battle for my soul because I know that I belong to God. But I do think that Satan enjoys tempting us and watching us struggle against things we may not fully comprehend, and takes joy in our sufferings.


Jesus died for my sins and yours and He wants us to live life to the full. It says so right here in: John 10:10 (NIV)"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." None of us can have life to the full if we allow the twin terrors of anxiety and depression to rule our minds and emotions.



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Fight back with the Word, lifestyle changes, therapy and medications if necessary. Don’t be afraid to take the necessary steps to stay well and live life to the fullest.

Did you ever watch the movie, JAWS? I’ve probably seen that movie 25 times.

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Remember the part when characters Brody, Hooper, and Quint are out in the boat at night waiting for the shark to come back the next day and he shows up early? They are passing the time talking about, and showing each other their battle scars.


Quint gets serious when Hooper asks him about his tattoo and Quint tells the awful story of waiting to be rescued after the USS Indianapolis went down in shark infested waters, and of the 1,199 crewmen who went into the water, only 316 came out. I've never read anything about the story of the USS Indianapolis, but I don't think any of those men could have survived that horrible ordeal without invisible wounds, hopefully they healed over with time and with God's grace. But the character, Quint, never allowed his deep wounds to heal. I think he lived to kill as many sharks as he could and this allowed his wounds to fester until the day he was killed by the shark. Survivor guilt to the extreme.



My point here is that we all have wounds and scars.Photobucket


Some of them are invisible. And they can be just as painful as the bleeding, festering wounds that the character Quint wore on his weary soul.

I found this picture on photobucket. It made me think how important it is to honor our fighting men and women, our elderly vets and our young vets and the sacrifices they have made. Today is the UN International Day of Peace.  Let Peace reign.


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Generations Of Valor
Pearl Harbor survivor Houston James of Dallas embraced Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Graunke Jr during a Veterans Day commemoration in Dallas yesterday. Graunke lost a hand, a leg and an eye when he defused a bomb in Iraq last year.

Battle wounds come in all shapes and sizes, visible and invisible.

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Jesus knows well the battle wounds we all carry inside and out. May this day be a day that you begin the healing process or continue on in the healing process. The important thing is that you share your wounds with the God who became man, look at his scars and know he cares for you and wants you to heal.


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John 10:10 (NIV)"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Give your doubts, fears, and wounds to Jesus.


What wounds are you struggling with? Big or little? Old or new?

8 comments:

  1. Wounds? Learning to trust and not worry. Why do I when I KNOW God is faithful. When I KNOW my Father loves me so much he sent his son to die for me?
    Because I get lost in myself instead of lost in His love.

    This is a beautiful post for a beautiful site. It was so great to see you again, Jill.
    Blessings on all those edits.

    Pepper

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  2. Hi Pepper,
    Thanks for stopping by. Would you believe I was working on marketing information for Strang when I had to go rescue my daughter. Her friend's car broke down near Chillicothe, OH. and I had to go up and bring her back. So much for my transition day off before going back to work.:)

    It was great seeing you in Indy. It all flew by so fast. Keep me posted.

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  3. Hey roomie!! I am SO impressed that you managed to find the time to write and illustrate such a beautiful post so soon after conference!!

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  4. Hi Serena,
    That's because I wrote it ahead of time. :) I noticed on my calendar that it was UN International Day of Peace and that's something that's important to all of us. Especially parents like you who have a son serving in Afghanistan. Let there be peace. Thanks for the brainstorming session. That helped a lot!

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  5. Hi Jill - Love the look of this! The English house in the background is perfect, plus what a wonderful picture of you. :)))

    Blessings, Ronda

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  6. Hi Ronda!
    It was great to see you at conference. Glad you like the site. I just love that house. Wish I lived in it! :) Oh no, I didn't ruin your suspension of disbelief did I?

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  7. LOVE your post! I am always struggling with either perceived or real injuries to the soul. Good thing the Holy Spirit LOVES to comfort.

    Brainstorming and chatting with you at conference is right up there HIGH on my top ten!!! Thanks for being you.

    Patti
    P.S. I have been ordered to the writing cave and won't be able to blog hop until 11/15 OR until I pound out my first draft of Lily. Would LOVE it if you occasionally have time to drop by during YOUR crunch time.

    Only by God can any of this happen!
    Love you,
    Patti

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  8. Oh Patti, I hear ya, girl. I need to be in my writing cave. Still struggling to make these revisions work. I enjoyed our time at conference and can only hope that we get to visit in person again. Now get to work!
    Love ya. May God bless your first draft and second and . . . :)

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