Operation Desert Locust

This morning as I drove into work through the parking lot, I noticed there was a locust on the lamp post I parked in front of. As I adjusted my Beret and walked toward the building, I noticed he had friends...So I find myself in my first Locust Invasion. Now, there are lots of operations happening out here in Texas with 'high speed' (the Army word for 'Really Cool') titles like Operation Warrior Command and Operation Boots on the Ground. So it makes me want to have a really cool title for my little Hospital operation. So I think I'm going to settle on Operation Desert Locust.

Things here are going well. I continue to do lots of different things in a given week from visiting patients and ministering to them to attending trainings on things like MasCals (we did another one at a different venue yesterday) to going out to the ranges on post and visiting some of the training operations happening out there to getting a chance to preach at a chapel service or led worship. Each day brings with it it's own challenges and opportunities. As I wrap up my time here and start to think about getting back to civilian life (I leave next Thursday), I find myself reflecting again on this past year in comparison to these last few weeks. All year I felt like I was just dying for affirmation, but no matter what affirmation I got it was not enough. I came here expecting to learn things but received so much more; I feel like all the affirmation I needed last year has been poured out on me here. It feels like everything I've put my hand to here has met with some measure of success.

The Lord has been so gracious to me. It seems to me that the lessons of grace the Lord has been teaching me have paid huge dividends here. It has often been tempting for me to be very hard on myself and expect an unreasonable standard of myself; I have used my 'get out of jail free' card often and it has increased my ability to do the work the Lord has given.

Thanks for staying with me and praying for me - I know that I would not survive these times without such a faithful prayer and friend base. Here's how you can be praying for me as I wrap up my last week:
- for continued divine appointment with paitents and staff
- for continued good working relationships with the Chaplains (that we'd all finish strong together)
- ***For strength and speed on my physical fitness test that I must pass next Wends (20th - 5.30AM)*** - that I would continue to engage all that the Lord has for me here and not 'check out' early