Several years ago, I was invited to Parris Island—one of the two places in America where newly recruited individuals are highly trained to become disciplined, fighting Marines.  This is the only place in America where women are given this same opportunity.  Excited to go does not begin to describe how I felt.  Fearful of what I was to experience does not even touch the surface of where my emotions landed.  I knew I was a jumble of nervous tension as I boarded the bus, and when the drill sergeant stood up at the front of the bus and barked these words:  “Pull down your window shades, shut your eyes, and place your head between your knees!” 

• The bus interior lights went dark. 
• The faces of those others sitting near me surely reflected the similar expression as mine:  FEAR! 
• The drill sergeant’s order could not be ignored, and I had willingly volunteered for this experience.
• The darkness became DARKER as I immediately obeyed the command. 

FEAR overtakes us in the DARKNESS! 

Now forgive me for saying it this way, but this week has seemed as if I have stepped back into that week at Parris Island and observed as our soon-to-become Marines trained their minds and bodies for the ultimate test:   “Hell Week!”

Sunday—On the day when I was given an opportunity to attend corporate worship service, to ‘armor-up’ ourselves in preparation for the upcoming days to follow, and to prepare our hearts for the mission field—the pastor stood and delivered the message God placed upon his heart to preach. 

• What do we do with our discontentment? 
• How we handle what we have matters! 
• How we handle our discontentment matters! 
• How we handle God’s mercy matters! 

Monday—On the day when I was given to work with students, to teach them to write academic essays—someone I love stepped into my office and shared a deep concern, a fear.

As I was gathering my end-thoughts for the day, I received a WhatsApp message—someone I love stepped into my thoughts and shared a deep concern, a fear.

Tuesday—On the day when I was given to teach my day and evening courses, to instruct my students, and to lead them to see the significance of writing about a topic that comes from deep in their heart—someone I love stepped into my mind through a series of text messages and shared three deep family-member concerns, three fears.

On the way home from my evening class, a phone conversation brought the sudden truth.  What began as a concern, a fear, suddenly morphed into a reality:  cancer! 

Today is Wednesday (Hump Day), and I wonder—Will today actually be the day when we get over the hump, get over the start of the opening days and all the heavy news, and will we be able to take a breath today?

Fear is a natural response when we face dangerous or confusing situations, but if we are watchful, then fear can become a catalyst for negative actions that do not honor and praise Almighty God.  If we allow our fear to overtake us, then we will find ourselves taking our eyes off our Savior and placing them upon our situation looming over us. 

Within the Marine Corp, the basic training encompasses a thirteen-week period where recruits are molded into well-oiled fighting men and women who are capable of fighting with their guns, their knives, and their hands—three in one—equally!  So, at the end of twelve weeks of intense training, the recruits endure week thirteen—“HELL Week.” 

Now, let’s get one thing straight:  I am not a Marine! 

I am a bystander, an observer, a participant, a trainee, a student, and a participant in an Educator’s Week of the Marine Corp 13-Week Basic Training.  Man, did I ever learn a great deal about myself and the young recruits and the Marines during the days that I attended this training week.  I sat across from soldiers in the chow hall and hurriedly asked questions as they gobbled down the precious food before them within the short time given for lunch.  I sat cross-legged on the freezing cold January ground under the awning as the soldier and I consumed box-lunches within the precious twenty minutes we were given to talk and eat.  That’s where I met a young man who only joined the Marines because his brother joined, and he knew his brother needed him if he was going to make it to the end—through the training and through HELL Week.  We participated in all facets of the 12-week training (at a much-reduced level), where I quickly noticed my weakness.  We wore similar Marine badges around our necks and rain gear in the pouring cold rain, ate the same food, heard similar barks of the drill sergeants as we moved (double-time) from here to there; however, one distinct difference remained.  At the end, we were going home! 

FEAR has a way of overtaking us when we face the DARKNESS rather than the LIGHT!