Chaplain Kay

I want to encourage everyone, if anyone, who reads this to wander on over the Chaplain Ken’s website and read his post on Surrender in which he references another great post and one of my favorite bloggers: Chaplain Candidate Amy Maxwell. In it, he makes some wonderful observation about the nature of surrender for us as Christians and more specifically those who have answered the call to the Chaplaincy.

People often ask me what the hardest part of entering the Chaplaincy will be and even have the audacity to think and verbalize that leaving the pastorate for the Army is a cake-walk decision. Like CH Ken, I am thrilled to wear this country’s uniform. I relish the thought of putting on that uniform and ministering to the needs of our soldiers. I am not scared of the work, the running (although that is something I could do without) or even the possibility of going to war. I do, however, flinch at the thought of driving away from my home with my family in the rearview mirror. I cringe at their already present tears and the tears I cry while they sleep. In short, I must surrender my family unto the Lord.

I would call myself a typical “solve it all” male. I want to have my hands on things and fix things when I can. I don’t like to see my family hurt and it pains me to know that this decision to surrender to God’s call results in their hurting. However, I wouldn’t trade God’s will for all the gold in the world. I want to be right where He has me.

I am reminded of a story Henry Blackaby tells in Experiencing God. When he was called mission work, it required him to spend a good deal of time away from his family. This pained him at first, but then God opened his eyes. Henry Blackaby wrote, “We came to believe that the heavenly Father, who loves His servants, could take better care of our children than we ever could” (Blackaby, Experiencing God, 137).

Like CH Ken and my fellow Chaplains, I must continue to trust in an Almighty God. Without His help and guidance I cannot get through this. However, with His wonderful ways and all-knowingness, I believe He will supply our needs day by day. For this reason, to Him I surrender my family and my life.