“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7).
Hey Gang: I recently
had the pleasure to return to the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air
Force Base in Dayton, Ohio and make contact with four years of my past. This was not my first trip back to one of my
roots and, I suspect, if we lived just down the road from the Base, I would go
there weekly.
Walking through the memorial garden is a sacred experience
for me for there are benches, among all of the other plaques, monuments and
benches commemorating the warriors who flew the great birds that are housed on
this campus; many of whom gave their lives in protecting our nation. There is a very special one that honors my
brother’s graduating class when gaining his wings.
Most of these honorees have completed their tenure on earth;
more than half departed this earth in protecting the land they loved, with a lay down your life love.
I love to read the multitudes of very special stories about special
people in the military. This morning my
bride gave me this story that rung my bell- for it is about a flat top, better
known as an air craft carrier. My second
brother served on the US Midway and USS Coral Sea during his tenure in the Navy,
so stories of flat tops are important to me. In many ways they were
instrumental in the defeat of the Japanese in the WWII.
It is my privilege to share it with you and I pray it will
ring your bell as it did mine. “The crew snapped to attention as Nancy
Reagan took her place with the dignitaries on deck. She had come to Norfolk, Virginia, to put
into commission the Aircraft Carrier named in tribute to her husband, President
Ronald Reagan. The ship was home to six
thousand sailors, carried more than eighty aircraft, and with two nuclear
reactors, could operate for twenty years without refueling. “I have only one line to say,” Mrs. Reagan
said as she waved to the cheering crowd:
“Man the ship and bring her to life!”
“Aye, aye,
ma’am!” The captain responded as he gave
the salute. Sailors rushed to their
posts. Anything that whistled, whistled. Anything that turned, turned. The USS Ronald Reagan had come alive and
would stay “at ready” until the day she was retired.
As I read this narrative of what happened that day, I was
reminded that God used only one line to bring us to life: “Let us make man in our image after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).
Wow, is that not
awesome? Did you ever truly stop, put all else out of
your mind and zero in on the fact that “You and I were formed in the exact
image of God? That when I look at you, I know what God looks like because we
are in His exact image.
Should that not give us a compulsion to protect this house
into which that God placed our soul? Fay
Angus, who wrote the description of the dedication of the Reagan Carrier for
Daily Guideposts, also wrote, “He, God,
set into motion the amazing spins and whistles of all that we are – body, mind,
soul and spirit. With the Scriptures as
our compass, empowered by the energy of the Holy Spirit (not for twenty years
but for eternity) our earthly vessel is ‘at
ready.’ We are
commissioned into the service of our Commander in Chief until, in His good
time, we, too, are retired from duty”.
Yes, I will continue to return to Wright Patterson because
of my tremendous respect for those warriors who have gone before me and
provided for me the freedoms to worship the Lord as my King of kings and Lord
of lords. But, my heart yearns for the day when I will be with my eternal
Commander and Chief for all eternity.
Blessings,
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