Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: HERO (10/01/20)
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TITLE: Encounter With a Hero | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marilyn Meiners
10/05/20 -
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As I dressed for the day I was humming a song I heard recently by The Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun”. Indeed, here was the sun and my world felt right.
Leaving my bedroom, I headed for the kitchen where I fixed myself a bowl of Honeycomb with bananas. I made myself some black coffee, then took these to the patio where I enjoyed my breakfast while admiring the beautiful way the sun was shining through the valley, causing the lake before me to sparkle like diamonds as the rays hit the water. What a delicious sight God had set before me this morning.
Opening my Bible to Psalm 19:1, 4b I began reading, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship…God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.” I continued reading the rest of the Psalm. Verse 14 caught my attention as I read. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” My prayer for this day was, “God please let my words be pleasing to you today.”
Deciding to take a two-mile walk, I headed for the trail that would lead me around the lake, through a small forest and eventually end up on Main Street. I knew this path would let me enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and allow me to thank Him once again for all he had done for me.
When I reached Main Street I headed for Pappy’s Diner. Because this was the only Diner in my small town, it was a favorite gathering place for the locals. Occasionally Pappy’s would welcome a visitor that was traveling through this Kentucky town.
As I opened the door, a little bell jingled to signify a customer had entered. Seeing no open table, I sat at the counter next to a gentleman that I did not know. Sitting down, I turned to him and said, “Hello, how are you this fine day?”
Returning my smile he said, “I’m good, and you?”
Thus began a very interesting conversation. Ordering my lunch, a hero sandwich with french fries and coke, we began to talk. He told me he was traveling through our town on his way home to Tennessee. He had just been discharged from the military, having served with the Army for four years.
As we talked, he shared about his year in the Viet Nam war. We talked about the many times he and his comrades were put in a dangerous situation as he fought the Nam’s. The terrain and climate were additional enemies of this war, along with ambushes and bobby traps. There were untold physical challenges. He mentioned how he saved one of his comrades. His friend had been seriously injured. Putting himself in danger, he carried this soldier two miles through a thick forest before he found safety.
“Were you afraid?” I asked him.
“When you are in a situation like this there is no time to be afraid,” he said. “I just wanted to save my friend and would do anything to get the job done. Thankfully, when we got to safety we were within a few miles of an American camp where there was a make-shift hospital. My friend was treated there and I’m happy to say, he lived.”
“But he would have died if you had not been there” I said quietly. “Only a hero would do something like that.”
“I’m no hero. I did what any solider would do” he meekly said. “More than 3 million people, including over 58,000 Americans, were killed in the Vietnam War. I just wish I could have saved more. At the Viet Nam Memorial in D.C. there are 58,000 names of men and women, both killed and missing, written in stone on that memorial, and some of those names were my friends.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I saw the sadness in his eyes. Then he quietly said, “Thanks for listening. I need to be going.”
“God Bless You,” I said as I watched a hero walk out the door of Pappy’s that day.
May God Bless all our military heroes for their sacrifices.
Scripture from the NLT translation
This is a story of fiction
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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