So, this morning at church I found out that today is Veteran’s Day. I did not really think anything of it. I mean it is great that veterans get a day and all but it is no Christmas. You know, nothing worth getting excited over. Well later in the day while watching football, I was reminded once again that “Hey it is Veteran’s Day!” This time it struck me that the impetus of me going on the Worldrace is because of a veteran. So, I am going to write a little bit about how I ended up committing to the Worldrace because of SPC. Chazray Clark.
Clark was my friend. We got along really well because we were both laid back. We got along so well, in fact, that we decided to be bunkmates. We talked a lot about basketball and music but mainly we talked about life. I am not sure why, I am not really a deep dude, but for some reason we were always talking about his family, his aspirations, and his fears. I guess something about war gives people perspective. I do not know… Well anyway, all these things are what made September 18th, 2012 change the direction of my life.
September 18th is the day that Clark died. I am not going to detail what happened on that day because the last I heard it is still under investigation. If you want to know what happened, just type “Chazr” into Google and his name will pop up and along with thousands of articles and videos about his death. I can tell you that when it happened I was upset. Justifiable right? Well, the thing is, I never get upset. I always just trust that everything happens for a reason and God does not need to tell me those reasons. Well, that morning that was not my thought process, that was not my heart. Instead, I was annoyed by the events surrounding Clark’s death, I was saddened by the sorrow I knew Clark’s family was about to endure, and I was disillusioned with the presence of my friends in Afghanistan.
So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I prayed. I prayed that God would cleanse my heart of the negativity that resided in it. I prayed that I would mourn with trust in the Lord’s Will. I prayed that I would appreciate where the Lord had placed me. And you know what? Every single one of those prayers were answered that day. The first two came as soon as I arose from my knees. The last one came in the form of an old Time magazine article.
The magazine issue had a woman with a disfigured face on the cover. She was an Afghani woman who had her ears and nose cut off by orders of the Taliban because she had fled her abusive in-laws. The article’s title, “What Happens If We Leave Afghanistan?” I am not a reader but I read that article without pause in minutes. I was entranced by her story, by the story of so many Afghani women. I already knew this kind of stuff went down, I mean I had seen the cruelty of the Taliban first hand, but this was the first time I realized that if the US tossed up deuces that day a lot of women were getting chopped up the next day.
The fog of disillusionment lifted instantly and it was then that I knew I was going on the Worldrace. I had not heard about the Race yet, in fact, I would not hear about it for another 7 months. But, it was at that moment that I knew I was supposed to help women abroad. Women trapped under archaic law, women bought and sold, women who were never given a chance to know Jesus. The opportunity to assist these women is what attracted me to the Worldrace.
Sooooooooo, that is how Veteran’s Day is connected to the Worldrace. They are connected by a passionate dude from Detriot who loved to smile, they are connected by an event that changed my perception of the world, they are connected by a seemingly random magazine article. Everything is connected and everything happens for a reason. Next time you perceive chaos in your life, just remember God has a PERFECT plan.
I leave you with a quote that my Squad Leader loved that perfectly described the men in 1st Platoon Blackheart Troop, men like Clark.
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. “ ~ George Orwell
