Patience and a Return from Iraq

Have patience; have patience.
Don’t be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient,
You only start to worry.

When my kids were little they had a tape of songs about the fruit of the Spirit. This was one of our favorites, sung whenever someone in the family got antsy.

I’ve been thinking a lot about patience these last few days. I made a list of some things that require it. I would love to hear what you would add.

Mailing a letter instead of sending an e-mail
Simmering a pot of soup instead of opening a can
Reading The Lord of the Rings instead of watching the movies
Sewing a quilt instead of embroidering a refrigerator magnet
Writing a book instead of an article

Then there are such travel goodies as:

Standing in the airline check-in line
Standing in the airport security line
Standing in the immigration line
Waiting at the gate for boarding
Waiting on the plane for de-icing
Waiting for your luggage
Standing in the line to report lost luggage
Waiting for your lost luggage to be returned…

Other things that require patience:

Toasting a marshmallow so it’s melted through, but not burned
Paying off debts
Sitting in a doctor’s waiting room
Following a slow driver when you are in a hurry
Passing safely on a curvy road
Attending an African church service
Learning a new language
Waiting to hear back from a publisher after sending a new manuscript
Mastering a figure-skating jump
Waiting for results on a pregnancy test (or a biopsy)
Reading through the Bible
Remodeling a kitchen
Growing trees around your new house in a former corn field
Growing a strong marriage
Seeing maturity in your kids
Seeing spiritual growth in yourself

My daughter and son-in-law have recently experienced a major test of patience. After fifteen months in Iraq, Dan is finally home. He telephoned from the base where he had been stationed to let Erika know their unit was moving out. He called from Baghdad where he waited three days for the army to get him on a flight. He called again from Kuwait where he sat two more days. He stopped in Budapest and in Ireland and called from Newfoundland when he was finally on his way. Erika was thrilled to get the call even if it was in the middle of the night. (She couldn’t sleep anyway!) He sent her a text message when the plane landed at Fort Hood, Texas and another after the returning soldiers had stored their gear and boarded buses.

“We’re here,” came Dan’s final text message while Erika waited with the other family members on bleachers overlooking a parade ground. A DJ played upbeat music and announced the progress of the soldiers, but the buses were still nowhere to be seen.

At last they pulled around the building and stopped on the road in front of the parade ground. Blurred faces jammed the windows, searching for loved ones. The crowd danced, screamed and waved handmade signs. The music grew serious, even heroic. In a few minutes the four buses pulled away to reveal the returned soldiers in perfect formation behind the ceremonial horses of the First Cavalry.

Erika could see Dan. He was there, looking where she had told him she was, but he still hadn’t spotted her. After a brief ceremony, including a prayer for others who are even now on their way to Iraq, the wait was over. Erika and the other adults followed the children running onto the field. After fifteen months (with a brief interlude in May), Dan and Erika were reunited as husband and wife.
 
Congratulations to you both! You made it!

Welcome home, Dan. We appreciate you more than you can know.

P.S. Although I would have loved to be there, I wasn’t. This account is based on Erika’s description of the day. The picture is by her friend, Dana Stone, whose husband is still there. Other pictures can be seen at
http://flickr.com/photos/photosoftheheart/sets/ (Choose 'Army Life')

N.B. Phone cards make great gifts for soldiers.