Remember my son? I mentioned him last summer in a special “BackPage” (navigate to the June 8, 2008 edition using the “Date” browser at the side of any Brigada page). He had negotiated a special deal with the Army to enter directly into training as a U.S. Army Ranger. However, four weeks into training, he suffered a debilitating knee injury that resulted in his immediate disqualification from the Army. We talked for hours after he arrived. He was crushed. This had been his lifelong dream. Now he was without purpose. It was a very dark time in his life. But there, in the barracks where soldiers await shipping home, someone had placed a John Piper book, “Don’t Waste Your Life.” (See the link to the book appended below.)

For good reason, this book — and the Bible — spoke mightily to my son. It gave him a glimmer of hope that if he could just hang in there, there might be another reason for his existence. Maybe he could recover a dream… if he could just manage to hang on.

This past Sunday, my son redeployed. Except, instead of sliding down ropes with a gun on his back, he parachuted (in a manner of speaking) into a Muslim land in the Middle East with hope in his heart. His goal? Learn to speak Arabic the very best he can. Adapt to a new land to the point that it feels like home. And share Christ’s love with as many new friends as God would allow. He’ll try to fit a degree in International Relations somewhere in between his real interest — *being* there.

Somebody somewhere prayed hard for my son. Some Brigada reader offered up a special appeal to the Father. And today, in that Muslim city with millions of people (that I can’t name; please understand that I shouldn’t answer if you ask), he’s studying, gently testifying, and walking on. Thank you for praying. Thank you for hoping, along with me, that a young man could rediscover his dream. Thank you for being a friend.

(See the original Brigada entry by navigating to June 8, 2008.)

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