War
I did something this past weekend that I had never done before. I went into the woods not far from my home and shot paintballs at people. I rented a BT-4 sniper rifle and shot ferociously at any exposed target. It was not totally unfounded, though. The guys I shot were wearing camouflage and were shooting back at me. Today, I have round, paintball sized bruises on my shoulder and hand to prove it. (I like to think that guys from the other team are much worse off.)
While I was running through the woods trying to capture the other team’s prized flag, I occasionally ran through a hail of paintballs before ducking behind some form of cover. I got in shoot-outs with guys only ten yards away. I even shot one guy without looking.
We had a lot of fun, but it inevitably made us think of the men and women exposed to this type of combat with real weapons. I can’t imagine what it was like for the World War 1 soldiers in trench warfare. As one writer has described it, they were truly “eye deep in hell.” I can’t comprehend what it was like for soldiers in Vietnam to deal with guerilla warfare. At the end of the day, our team of friends walked away laughing. At the end of this day, there will be teams of friends in the Middle East who will forever be shattered by death.
Pray for those men and women. They need us as much as we need them.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.” ~ Paul
