the 4th: then and now

We had a wonderful fourth of July here in Arkansas.  The weather was unusually nice (highs were mid 80s) and we spent the day with friends, eating yummy foods, playing a competitive friendly game of whiffle ball, and watching a fireworks show at the country club.  It was a typical fourth.

Little did I know, on the other side of the world, one of our good friends, Lucas, was quite literally fighting for our freedom.

This past Monday, he shared with us the story of what happened to his group in Afghanistan, prefacing it with "I really didn't think I would live to see the sixth."  That is definitely not something you want to hear from your friend.  Thankfully, up to this point, Lucas had not seen any combat action since he has been overseas.  He left America in January.  

There were times when reading the story aloud to Devin that I couldn't get the words out.  I won't share the details but know that God protected him that day in a way that I have never experienced or witnessed before.  At one point, he said he heard bees buzzing all around him and couldn't figure out why.  Then he realized they were bullets being shot at him!  I can't begin to imagine what it was like.

After talking with Lucas, we were just overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude.  When I told him how different our fourth was and how horrible I felt because of it, he said, "That makes me happy.  That's why we do what we do."  I'm just so incredibly humbled by his (and every other person in the service) sacrifice and bravery.  

Please keep Lucas in your prayers.  Hopefully, that is all the combat action he will see during the rest of his time overseas.  His group is hoping to be home sometime in October!  Lucas said that he will always view the fourth of July differently, and I think we will too.

From our HUG trip in 2008, Lucas sharing iPod music to an Egyptian boy on the Nile river.