Sweet, Sweet Release

Sweet, Sweet Release

Forty-nine years ago today on March 5, 1973, my phenomenal fighter pilot/Prisoner of War father was released from almost six years of captivity. These 2,117 days (as he so vividly remembers and shares when asked how long he was held prisoner) were filled with starvation, long stents spent in solitary confinement as well as horrifyingly brutal barbaric torture sessions. According to many sources, including a reputable news publication, my incredible father was the most brutally tortured prisoner that had survived. The others being tortured had died as a result. My Dad was tortured for information he didn’t even possess but, by God’s extravagant grace and mercy, he not only survived but also returned to our family in unfathomable health considering the conditions he had just endured from six dark years spent in the vacuum of a communist prison camp. He then went on to take command of USS Niagara Falls (a supply ship) as well as the USS Lexington (an aircraft carrier) - quite an amazing and rare feat considering all that he had just survived. Only by God’s grace.

Fast forward to this morning as one of my “memories for the day” on Facebook popped up, reminding me of a previous year’s posts about the significance of this date marking the date of my Dad’s release. As I was re-posting it, I was slapped with a warning message reminding me that I’m still in Facebook “jail” for another 13 hours (I’m in yet another 30-day restriction placed on my account because they don’t like the truths that I and other truth-tellers are sharing on their social media platforms). The irony is not lost on me that stunningly brave and valiant men and women have paid a staggeringly high cost for the “freedoms” that we have erroneously believed we enjoyed. Yet being unable to simply post the significance of this day reminds me that it seems we are, in the blink of an eye, to be mind-numbingly and swiftly relinquishing.

I would be incredibly disheartened by it all if I hadn’t read in scripture that exactly such things would, in fact, happen in these days. As my sinking heart and overwhelmed mind gets drawn back into the stunning truths of God’s Holy Word, my heart swells once again to buoyancy because I’m reminded that He chose ME to walk with Him through just such times. And that He knew that I am exactly who He wanted to navigate “such a time as this” just as He did Queen Esther.

My lamp is filled with oil as one of the wise virgins talked about in Matthew 25 as I watch and wait for HIs return for His Bride.