Election Time. Who do you Vote For? Part 2

I wanted to leave this email as a post that Rick Hales sent me. He wrote it after reading my post on "Election Time. Who do you vote for?" It is so inspiring that I asked him if he would mind me posting it, and he said go ahead. I hope it touches all of you as much as it did me. Thanks Rick.



Hi my friend.

Isn't Virginia beautiful? When I was a young Army Captain I was invited to work at
The Army Chief of Staffs office in the Pentagon. What a thrill for an ambitious
young officer from South Arkansas.

I left my very stable life in Monticello and headed for the city! Money was
everywhere. I regularly saw Colin Powell in the halls and I thought I had hit the
big time.

I sent for my family shortly afterward and they were happy to join me. We found an
apartment with a gate (that should have been a clue) and moved right in.

The first few months were great. National Zoo, Lincoln memorial, Smithsonian
Institute, picnicking on the Mall, man the weekends were unlimited. My salary was
three times what it was in Arkansas and I also got $115 a day per diem (that’s
extra).

Working in the Pentagon was intense. In and out of meetings with 1,2,3 Star
Generals and before long I was actually a key player. The team I was on had seven
people. Four were West Point Graduates, two from MIT and me. Me? I dropped out of
high school. How in the heck did I get here? What am I doing here? I began to
look at the bigger picture. My wife was still asleep when I went to work. She was
trying to keep supper warm for me when I got home. The apartment began to get
really small.

Cathy had taken her children from everything they knew and followed me to a place
where she had nothing. What a wife. Signs of wear began to show on my family. I
sought counseling to try to help us adjust to family life in the big city. It never
seemed to be the answer. We were growing apart from each other and God did not seem
to be a factor in any decision we made.

One Sunday we were out riding and sight seeing (actually we were just getting out of
the apartment) and we passed a small church. The sign out front said “We believe
God sent His only Son to die for our sins so we could have everlasting life”. I
remember thinking hey look, they believe like momma does. We went back the next
Sunday.

It felt like a family reunion. People were going in and out doing God’s work and
welcomed us right in. We found a touch of peace in a very insecure place. The
pastor and church family picked us up like lost puppies. Cathy and I made friends
and began to be part of something important, a Christian Fellowship. We actually
found a family in this church from Fordyce. The husband went to UAM when I was
there.

The remaining time went pretty fast. I could have still been there but my beautiful
wife longed for home (Praise God). At the end of my second tour I asked her if she
wanted to stay again and she said ‘Well baby, I think I’m gonna go home and get the
kids back in school. You can stay and come home when you want to’. I thought I
might oughta go with her because she is too valuable to let out of my reach again.
She was wonderful to follow me but the truth is that God has given her a wonderful
gift of discernment. I have learned she won’t battle me when she feels I am going
the wrong direction. I have to listen real hard to hear her heart but I know God is
speaking to her.
I went to work and told my boss (Col Taylor) I was going to decline another tour.
He asked what I was going to do and I said take my family home. He hugged me and
said he understood. They had a very nice going away party and made me feel like I
was the best officer in the Pentagon. It was truly a powerful experience that built
my self confidence. I found out I could function in the most demanding environment.
I was able to tell Col Taylor that I felt like God had placed me there to bring me
closer to Him. That was significant because Col Taylor was a Jehovah Witness. I
told him that when I was in Arkansas I was very secure. If I needed
anything, I could get it from friends and family. But in the big city I was on my
own. Only when I felt the full weight of life did I realize how important God
actually was to me. Peace was only felt when I sought and served Him.

We left Washington and moved to Pine Bluff. I had a friend who put me to work in a
pipe plant working graveyard. We lived in a small drafty house but it was ok. We
had to work toward a goal of getting back to Monticello. Finally I got my old job
back at Legal Services and moved back to Monticello. We went from $19,000 to
$65,000 to $19,500 per year during this little adventure. My net gain is
immeasurable.

I tell you this story for me and you. I needed to stop long enough to reflect on
God’s impact on my life. We get very busy in our day to day activities. Sometimes
we get so busy even in doing God’s work that we loose sight of Him. As you are
exploring this phase of your life I pray that you don’t take your eyes off God like
I did. But if you do, please realize that He is always near. You are saved by the
blood of Jesus and He will not forsake you. God allows us to explore this life and
seek improvements for ourselves. He is always there for you and I and forgives us
for our short comings instantly when we ask Him. His grace is limitless and His
love is unending.

Dear Lord, I thank you for Kevin, Tammie, Nick and Kristy. You have bless them with
many gifts and a precious family. I honor You for these blessings. I see that they
are going down a path of the unknown. I pray that You will pull them closer to You
and guide their every step. Please use this time to reveal yourself to every lost
person that you place in Kevin’s path. Give him the words and power through the
Holy Spirit to be bold and effective to proclaim Your majesty to everyone he meets.

I ask that you pour out your blessings on them during this journey and meet their
every need. Lord lift up Tammie and continue to give her the words of encouragement
her husband needs to hear. Help her be the vessel of love for Nick and let him
learn from watching he mother and father depend on You.

God I pray that you give this family safety and good health. Meet all their needs
Lord in Jesus name. Help me Lord to stand by my friends and be Your servant in
Monticello as Kevin is in Virginia.

Father I pray a special request for Your power in Kristy’s life. She has been
taught Your word and I pray that seed will bring fruit for Your kingdom throughout
her husbands family. I ask that You use the Holy Spirit to place a burden on her
husbands heart that he cannot bear. Lord I pray that you reveal Yourself to him and
draw him into Your family of believers. Keep his family safe Lord and add them to
Your kingdom.

God I thank You for all you have done in my life. I praise you for your word and
thank you for making it available to me. Thank you most of all for extending Grace
to us by sending Your Son how bore that burden that none of us could bear for
ourselves. I praise the name of Jesus and bring these request to you in His name.

Kevin, I love you, I admire you and respect you for the way you are striving to
provide for your family both spiritually and financially. I know that you are
seeking Gods guidance in these uncertain days. I also know we can come to God one
on one but I tell you my brother, find a church while you are there. God will guide
you to the right one. He will reveal Himself to you through the preaching of His
word and minister to you thru His believers.

Rick