The
last few weeks have flown by in a frenzy of soaking up every last second with
my group of friends. The chemistry and
community we shared was unstoppable. I
realized that at some point things were going to change, but what I didn’t know
was how soon…
started a few months ago. Molly (my sister) and I met Peter at a party. Then that next week he showed up at our house to help with Fill-A-Belly ministry night, where Molly, cooks up something amazingly good, and we deliver it to the homeless
in our neighborhood. Peter came and
brought his friend Nick.
I
was hyper, jumping around the house, singing songs, letting the goofy side of
my self come out in full force. Normally
I save that for those I know won’t be scared off, but for some reason I felt
comfortable around the guys, and my guard never came up. From that first night our friendships took
off.
Soon
it was something every night. The guys
crashed on our floor more often then not.
We all prayed together, played together, ate together, and did life as a
group. I felt like I was reliving the
community aspect of the World Race, which was nice. It was a gift to have uplifting, encouraging,
challenging friends. I loved coming home
to Peter’s sincere, “How was your day?”
He listened for the answer every time, and asked questions as if the
mundane details were something to write home about. I enjoyed Nick’s genuine hugs and gentle head
pats. It made me so happy when they
started calling our house home, and our group of friends began to be referred
to as “the family.”
The
first time I talked with Peter and Nick about war, they shattered the stereotype
I had of Marines. These guys had
painstakingly thought through what it meant to suffer and die, so that others
could live. They wrestled through what
it was to have a career that required them to kill or be killed. They faced the agony of fighting in a war
that they didn’t necessarily agree with.
the beginning, I knew that deployment was a possibility, but it seemed
distant. When Peter called to say that
they were leaving for Afghanistan,
I couldn’t hold back the tears. He tried
to assure me that most of the men they were sent to replace were only injured. I read the news, it told a different
story. Until that call, this whole war
didn’t seem real to me. I had read the
stories and watched the news, but I didn’t feel the effects. War looks different through the lens of my
friends being called to put their lives on the line.
night we had our final hurrah, and today, we said our goodbyes, hopefully for
the next 4 months. It’s been a rough
day, one with tons of emotions. I know
one thing; I’ll no longer neglect to pray for our troops. Thanks for praying for Peter and Nick, and
the other guys on their team.
