12th Anniversary

Twelve years ago today I made one of my best decisions and one of my worst decisions in my life. I left Youngstown, Ohio behind with my poor high school grades, broken friendships, a solid church, and wonderful girlfriend waiting. I left to try and make something out of my life and I think I did. Years later it’s hard for me to remember the boy that I was, and that’s exactly what I was, and my experience in the military changed everything.

The reason I label it as one of my worst decisions is because the Lord had given me a separate plan for my life. I ran from that plan and went for the career I hoped would make a better life for my girlfriend and for me. At the time, I thought she was going to be the one I married. Well, that didn’t work out, and I long regretted my decision. However, as I look back God used that time to help make me into a man.

When I left, I was scarred with all kinds of immaturities and completely unwilling to take responsibility for anything. It was my time in the military that taught me about life. It taught me how naïve we can all be, and it showed me how definitive right and wrong can be. It also taught me how easy it is to fall into a gray area morally. I found out how things work in this world.

The great thing is even though I had to learn those hard lessons; I was also blessed to travel all through Europe and the Caribbean. I got to visit Israel! I walked the Via Delarosa. I stood in Gethsemane. How many of us can say that? I saw the Tower Bridge in London. I stood underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I enjoyed a gondola ride in Venice. I walked the sobering grounds of Auschwitz and Dachau. I got to see the beauty of the Sistine Chapel. I took a train through the Scottish Highlands and found myself at Loch Ness. I worked in the Pentagon! I experienced all these things before age 26. God blessed me which such wonderful experiences that I’ve never forgotten.

I left the Navy in 2006 a bit disgruntled, but over the years I’ve come to realize how proud I really am to have served this country. I served for 9 years and I wouldn’t give any of it back. I learned so much about what it is to sacrifice and what duty really is. Even as I faced personal issues afterwards, I was able to draw upon everything I went through and keep perspective. All of that came from God. Despite all I did to run from Him, He turned it into something wonderful, and now I’m proud to call myself a veteran of the United States Navy.