Dependent Health Care?

My pulse? Racing.

I grew up on Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on the other side of the Lone Star state from Ft. Hood. So the recent events and images in the national media hit really close to home...and that's not the only reason.

Living on a military base is like living in another world. All major buildings have horizontal numbers in military black stenciling and citations were given if you neglected to cut your lawn. I was a senior in high school before I knew what a pharmacist was or that you had to pay for dental and medical care. Imagine flashing your drivers license every time you went into a store...we did...if you didn't have your military ID you didn't get to shop! I couldn't wait to be old enough to carry and flash my own card and not just be a dependent. Imagine my surprise last Thursday to learn that our son's first dental appointment fees were not covered even though the insurance card said, "Dependent Coverage: Yes." I quickly learned that that only meant spouse, not child...and thus my culture shock continues as I learn how the other half lives.

Live media broadcasts form Ft. Hood, pans of the largest military base in America, news anchor reports from every network, take me back to my childhood home and memories of my dad. Have you ever considered the sound bites between the 6 & 11:00 news do not convey the true tally of all victims? This is not an anti-media posting, but rather a call for sympathy and compassion for ALL those involved, much like a recent post about Susan Klebold.

I remember when my dad, decorated Retired U.S. Army First Sergeant, was the headline; and we went to retrieve his truck from the scene. The reporter and camera man literally came running…could they have hit the jackpot to be the first to interview the accused’s family? They interrupted a neighbor mid-sentence to grab cords and raced to where my brother keyed the door. How quickly feelings of deep sadness, mourning, and grief can be pushed aside by anger, hate, and contempt!

Oswald Chambers wrote, “Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice.” How big is a trace? I think the size of a trace depends on the size of the hurt. Some of the smallest injustices leave the largest resentments. Then, like in today’s headlines and my own experience, the largest injustices can have the slightest trace of a fractured heart before God. With only Chamber's eloquence, he simplifies, “Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.”

I can not be the peacemaker or the persecuted except through Christ.
I cannot be turn the other cheek, forgive, or offer my cloak except through Christ.
I cannot withhold judgment or go the second mile except through Christ.

What a reminder that we are always marked as a dependent of our Heavenly Father! We are so unable to attain, maintain, or sustain anything outside of His care. Through Christ, pray for ALL victims in today’s horrific and unwarranted tragedy.

My pulse? In Rhythm.