Ain't it Funny?

   So, when I was in high school I was obsessed with football. Wait... let me rephrase that. So, I am obsessed with football. (Much better) After my senior year of football I attracted some attention from some small schools to come and play football. I had it narrowed down to two: Rhodes College in Memphis, TN or Sewanee University located a ways south of Manchester, TN. I did not really care about an education I just wanted to play football. Rhodes turned out to be too expensive even with scholarship money so it was down to Sewanee. Much to my chagrin, so was Sewanee. So I ended up spending my first year at Middle Tennessee State University. This all worked out, even though I could not see it at the time. The next year I transferred to Cumberland University, in Lebanon, TN, to play football. I later graduated and decided to go to law school and will graduate in May.
   The thing is, without the initial disappointment of missing out on my two favorite schools I wouldn't be where I am today. Have you ever heard the expression, you can't see the forest because of the trees? That was essentially my problem. And I would say that many others have the same problem.  We are so focused on what we want to do, and our goals for our lives (the trees) that we fail to see God's plan for our life (the forest). God has a specific plan for each and every one of us, and that plan is reached by a path pre-ordained by our Father. We have no idea where that path is going, and most of the time we cannot even see it, but God knows exactly where it is going and where it will eventually end. Our job is to let go and not focus on the pain of not getting what we think we need, and let God direct our lives to our true purpose. And you know what, it's funny how it all works out.  
   "And we all know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28

Age

   So I turned 26 the other day. I am now officially four years from being 30. And I am okay with that. Age is nothing. As cliche as it sounds, age really is just a number.
   Think about everything we have learned as we have gotten older. And, as the saying goes, we learn something new everyday. Just think about how much knowledge we will gain as we get older. I like the fact that we will never have all of the answers, even if we live to be 106, we will continue to learn.
   I joke with my wife Carie that my goal is to live until I am 120. And while this is probably a little unrealistic, how cool would that be? Think about everything that people over 90 have seen: two world wars, a depression, Pearl Harbor, the assassination of a president, our first African-American president, the first man on the moon, and all of the advances in technology. I want that to be me one day.
   Why is there any reason to be upset about getting older? So we may not be able to do some of the things we used to be able to do, but we gain so much in exchange. Many of us are or will get married. We will grow old with the love of our life (little shout out to mine!). Most will eventually have kids and watch them grow into amazing people. And when we are old, and hopefully haven't screwed our kids up too much, we will be surrounded by the family that we love and hold so dear. We have no reason to fear or dread getting older. Some of the coolest people I know are over 40. Besides, isn't 40 the new 20?

War.

   Teddy Roosevelt was once quoted as saying, "A just war is in the long run far better for a man's soul than the most prosperous peace." While I do not completely agree with this sentiment, I do feel war is sometimes necessary, and that America, as the most powerful nation on the planet, has a duty to help those who, sometimes, cannot help themselves. For better and for worse, I have recently come to the conclusion that an American presence in Iraq is a good thing. While I will spare everyone the political argument of why I feel this way, I would like to talk about the forgotten. The American soldier.
   It is easy to forget there is a war going on as we set comfortably in our heated homes; watching television, as I am now; and sleep comfortably in our plush beds. There are still men and women in uniform fighting for the freedom we so graciously take advantage of, and the freedom of those less fortunate. War is a bitch. And unfortunately men and women are killed. Daily. Over the past day I have watched three documentaries about our men and women in war. And while I take these films with a grain of salt, as with any media, it is undoubtedly clear the toll that war takes on the human spirit. These men and women will never be the same. They will not return to their "normal selves" and how could they after witnessing such atrocities? And to the average American, we act like these soldiers are just run of the mill citizens. Well, they aren't.
   I can sense a generational gap in the way we treat soldiers. If you notice, many of the elderly will go out of their way to tell a soldier thank you for their service. They treat soldiers with dignity and an almost reverent respect. Those of us in Gen X, however, usually do not think twice when we see men and women in uniform. I vow today to change this, and I pray all who read this will to. Agree with the war or not, these are our brothers and sisters fighting and dying for us, people they have never met. We as a society are forever indebted to their service and they deserve our utmost respect. So thank you to those who have served and are currently serving. And to those whom I personally know, whom I have never thanked: Bryan Curran, Johnathon Byers, Justin Parrott, Trey Mosby, Patrick Linam, Jason Carter, Matthew Parker, Eric Stanley, Michael Barber, Patrick Barber, and to the many I have forgotten, THANK YOU.