This is something!!! So great! The faithfulness of walking with Jesus every moment of every day. Loving as He loves us. Love the practical steps and questions for every day. Thank you!
What struck me initially is the idea that 1) I doubt seriously many (if any) of the men storming the beaches of Normandy considered themselves heroes and 2) People who are living out Romans 12:1-2 don't consider themselves heroes, either.
1) I watched an account given by a man who was on the landing craft that day. It is heartbreaking. I've added the link below if you want to watch, but it's hard.
And it's things like this that I think of, when people use the word "hero" today. Frank De Vita made 15 trips to the beaches at Normandy, and after the first one, he was done. He didn't think he could do it again. But he went back, again and again, because he couldn't live with the idea that if he didn't go, they'd just put someone else on the boat, and what if that person died?
2) When I've been on mission trips to Haiti, I've had the opportunity to serve God by serving his people. There are so many things I could share about those trips, but the one thing that sticks with me is that the world, my life at home, all of that faded into the background. We lived it 24x7 and that was the greatest thing I've ever experienced. Just immersed in serving.
Thank you so much for linking that interview. I've saved it to watch.
I agree with you, and perhaps I didn't articulate my point clearly enough. Heroism is often a matter of perspective. From the viewpoint of the one doing the work, it rarely feels heroic. It simply feels like what must be done.
Frank De Vita returned to those boats again and again because he couldn't bear the thought of someone else taking his place. A missionary returns to Haiti because souls matter. A father goes to work because his family depends on him. A mother gets up before dawn to teach her children because Christ entrusted them to her care.
I homeschool four children and help care for our homestead. I don't consider that heroic in the least. My daughter has told me more than once that I am hers. The people we benefit often see something in our faithfulness that we ourselves cannot.
Christ Himself "set His face" toward Jerusalem, endured the cross, and calls us to take up ours daily. That way of living runs contrary to our natural instincts for comfort and self-preservation. In any other context, we would call the person who repeatedly chooses sacrifice over self-interest courageous.
That's part of what I hoped to communicate through the field manuals. We are at war. There are costs, trade-offs, disciplines, and sacrifices involved in following Jesus. Training matters. Mindset matters. Habits matter.
The men who stormed Normandy did not wake up heroes on June 6. They spent months training in ordinary obedience before they ever reached that beach.
Perhaps the Christian life works much the same way. Most of us won't be called to one dramatic act of sacrifice. Instead, we'll spend years learning to say, "Yes, Lord," in thousands of small moments until faithfulness itself becomes part of who we are.
Thanks for taking the time to reply so thoughtfully. I really appreciate it.
Life is a chore. Work, home, family, even church brings responsibilities and commitments. Those things pile up, we make mistakes, we win small victories, we open up that little box in our heart sometimes and sift through our dreams. Over time, many of those simply aren’t important - or achievable - any more.
All anyone can do is keep showing up. And, honestly, most of the ordinary people who keep showing up end up being a hero to someone.
I try to do that, and try to prioritize the important things, like keeping Jesus at the center of it all . . . which is perhaps the hardest thing to do.
I like to share the old bumper sticker I used to see fairly often that read:
Jesus Is My Copilot!
Funny thing is, if that was true, they were sitting in the wrong seat! 😉
This is something!!! So great! The faithfulness of walking with Jesus every moment of every day. Loving as He loves us. Love the practical steps and questions for every day. Thank you!
I'm so blessed to hear it.
White Harvest as in imprint hopes to publish the field manuals as a discipleship tool in the near future.
What a wonderful vision!
What struck me initially is the idea that 1) I doubt seriously many (if any) of the men storming the beaches of Normandy considered themselves heroes and 2) People who are living out Romans 12:1-2 don't consider themselves heroes, either.
1) I watched an account given by a man who was on the landing craft that day. It is heartbreaking. I've added the link below if you want to watch, but it's hard.
And it's things like this that I think of, when people use the word "hero" today. Frank De Vita made 15 trips to the beaches at Normandy, and after the first one, he was done. He didn't think he could do it again. But he went back, again and again, because he couldn't live with the idea that if he didn't go, they'd just put someone else on the boat, and what if that person died?
2) When I've been on mission trips to Haiti, I've had the opportunity to serve God by serving his people. There are so many things I could share about those trips, but the one thing that sticks with me is that the world, my life at home, all of that faded into the background. We lived it 24x7 and that was the greatest thing I've ever experienced. Just immersed in serving.
Interview of Frank De Vita (Normandy Invasion survivor): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leeB5EoQcIs
Thank you so much for linking that interview. I've saved it to watch.
I agree with you, and perhaps I didn't articulate my point clearly enough. Heroism is often a matter of perspective. From the viewpoint of the one doing the work, it rarely feels heroic. It simply feels like what must be done.
Frank De Vita returned to those boats again and again because he couldn't bear the thought of someone else taking his place. A missionary returns to Haiti because souls matter. A father goes to work because his family depends on him. A mother gets up before dawn to teach her children because Christ entrusted them to her care.
I homeschool four children and help care for our homestead. I don't consider that heroic in the least. My daughter has told me more than once that I am hers. The people we benefit often see something in our faithfulness that we ourselves cannot.
Christ Himself "set His face" toward Jerusalem, endured the cross, and calls us to take up ours daily. That way of living runs contrary to our natural instincts for comfort and self-preservation. In any other context, we would call the person who repeatedly chooses sacrifice over self-interest courageous.
That's part of what I hoped to communicate through the field manuals. We are at war. There are costs, trade-offs, disciplines, and sacrifices involved in following Jesus. Training matters. Mindset matters. Habits matter.
The men who stormed Normandy did not wake up heroes on June 6. They spent months training in ordinary obedience before they ever reached that beach.
Perhaps the Christian life works much the same way. Most of us won't be called to one dramatic act of sacrifice. Instead, we'll spend years learning to say, "Yes, Lord," in thousands of small moments until faithfulness itself becomes part of who we are.
Thanks for taking the time to reply so thoughtfully. I really appreciate it.
Life is a chore. Work, home, family, even church brings responsibilities and commitments. Those things pile up, we make mistakes, we win small victories, we open up that little box in our heart sometimes and sift through our dreams. Over time, many of those simply aren’t important - or achievable - any more.
All anyone can do is keep showing up. And, honestly, most of the ordinary people who keep showing up end up being a hero to someone.
I try to do that, and try to prioritize the important things, like keeping Jesus at the center of it all . . . which is perhaps the hardest thing to do.
I like to share the old bumper sticker I used to see fairly often that read:
Jesus Is My Copilot!
Funny thing is, if that was true, they were sitting in the wrong seat! 😉
Truth! 👏