I wrote in the last message that our vision, our purpose, we saw before us as young men was stolen from us.  Who do you suppose it was stolen by?  I propose to you the there was more than one thief.

Physically we had to submit to the conivings of the military as training NCO's came at us full bore, intent on destroying whatever semblance of a civilian was in us and turning what was left, into a disciplined, well ordered military machine.  You've heard that term, military machine, before I'm sure.  We had a new purpose being set into our minds and hearts.  Serve our country by seeking out and killing the enemy.  Another thief was our parents and families. 

Our families placed their own expectaions on us that may or may not have lined up with what we wanted.  How many of us wanted to be a simple mechanic.  But Mom and Dad wanted us to be, say, a teacher?  Out of respect, we gave in and became...a teacher, and not the auto shop teacher.  What about the young man who went away with aspirations of becoming a doctor?  Let's say he served in Vietnam, Korea or Kosovo as a medic.  But he got injured and could not attend medical school.  The combat opeartion became a theif.  Then there was the government.  Whether we were drafted or enlisted, the government had taken, stolen, 2, 4, or more years of our lives.  And in most cases, the years were in our late teens...18 or 19, maybe 20 years old.  The years we should have been forming our adult lives.

Anyway you look at it, a large portion of our lives were stolen and in that prime time of our lives, so were or dreams...our vision...our purpose.

One of the things that happened to me after Vietnam was a searching.  A detailed lengthy search for identification and significance.  The American people and government had told me I was insignificant.  Even the American church had excluded me; made me feel worthless.  In my search I looked at many things to help me settle down.  I tried different things to help me identify who I was and finally settled on the army.  I was a soldier.  But I soon found a spiritual aspect was missing.

Without the spiritual part...I STILL HAD NO PURPOSE...  I looked to Buddhism, Hinduism and other "isms".  I tried American Indian "magic" and that way of life.  I looked at many Christian off shoots and false religions including the occult.  I drank and did drugs early on.  Nothing...not one thing I did gave me any sense of purpose and none...not one single person I met in any of the various things I tried gave me a sense of belonging or acceptance.  Even my drinking and doping friends were only there for the next round or hit.

I found my purpsoe in life by taking time to be alone.  I went to a retreat and spent time away from everyone and quietly looking back on my life, I asked, "What happened to my dreams?". 

 As I remembered, I thought about when as a boy, playing as a priest and how I enjoyed that.  I could "hear" my grandmother laughing with me and asking me questions about what I was doing.  As I thought I remembered how I loved to teach my troops.  How much satisfaction I got knowing, seeing my soldiers grasp a concept and finally put it to work successfully in the field; knowing I had trained them.  Especially when I could see my men didn't just understand the idea, they knew the full concept from theory to practical application.

I had asked the Lord Jesus into my heart several years earlier and through His work in my life, He had begun to restore my purpose and my sense of value and self-worth.  What had been stolen from me, the Lord put back many times over.

There are stipulations to this of course.  Nothing hard at all.  Think about what I've written to you...and after you have, contact me at our web-site or by e-mail.  www.cedarvalleypointman.org or frank@cedarvalleypointman.org

Blessings,

Frank