As I sit here in the floor of my bedroom, the clock on the computer says its 5:45pm. The youngest is upstairs playing Xbox with mommy and the oldest is in his bedroom…pretty sure he is taking a nap. Times have sure changed in the past 17 years….so many places….so many new things…so many adventures. You see, at 11:59pm I will officially pass the torch off to someone else….not physically….but in spirit. My time as a Marine will be through.
Now I haven’t been a “Marine” in a long time….even though they say “Once a Marine, Always a Marine.” I’ve been in the Inactive Reserve for the past 3 years….but I’ve had to keep my uniforms and stay within weight standards and physically fit (which ironically, I’m in better shape than I was when I left active duty.) I have had to keep a huge Tupperware of all of my uniforms and gear….in case I was ever called back. But tonight its over.
The Marine Corps was my life for so long….It started in the middle of the night just a few miles from my current residence, when I was dropped off in the middle of a swamp on Parris Island….on the famous Yellow Footprints. Then a few months later I was handed the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor…like the one in the picture above….that made it all official. The Marine Corps lead me to places like Hawaii, Iraq, Bahrain, Okinawa. I was stationed in North Carolina, South Carolina…Pennsylvania, New Jersey. I rode on military aircraft and ships. I spent months at a time away from my family….in fact I found out about my oldest just a few hours after I left for a deployment when we stopped in Guam for a layover. I’ve been in multiple flag ceremonies, including the World Series with the Phillies and the Yankees. And I have overseen over 300 Military Honors Funerals.
But like all things in life….it has come to an end. Everything has a start and an end. Moses started by leading the Israelites out of Egypt, “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharoah, so that you may bring My people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10)”….and the Israelites eventually made it to the Promised Land. David, the Greatest King of Israel, began his reign as king when he was anointed as a young boy….only for it to end years later when Solomon took over, “And Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established (1 Kings 2:12.)” And Jesus began his ministry….only to rise from the grave after his crucifixion (although that could be the end of one thing and the start of something even better.)
My Marine Corps life is now over….but now I move on. I am so blessed to have had the experiences that I did. And I’m even more blessed to have made it through them safely. It’s an odd feeling for it to be officially over.
But as I sit here and reflect of the start and end of one part of my life…..there is something so much greater than the Marine Corps, or my current job, or anything we start or finish. Our Salvation through Christ is never-ending. Through the Grace of God we have eternal life….all we have to do is believe….and ask for that Salvation. And Salvation is just the beginning of greatness. For it says in Hebrews, “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation (Hebrews 6:9.)” As John says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13.)” And as Paul writes to the people of Ephesus, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14.)”
I’ve been listening to my Pastor’s sermons on the book of Daniel these last few days, and its scary to think of where I would be without Christ. The trials and tribulations that I would have to endure….that will one day come. But it has also shown me that I can’t keep my salvation a secret while there are those of you out there who may not have yet found the Grace of God. Eternal life is for everyone. You just have to ask for it, and believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the grave.
So I pray for all of you who don’t know the love of Jesus. I pray that maybe through my words you can find Him…..or that He will at least work through me to point you in the right direction. I pray that in the ends of your beginnings, you can look back and count the blessings that you have. But I also pray that you can start a new beginning….a beginning that has no end.
Tetelestai 