Why can't they see that God was there

Why is it that soldiers always seem to wonder where God is when they see the worst man is capable of? Understandable to be sure when they see so much death, destruction, misery and horror. Why can't they see that God was there, even with all of that, because they were there?

They manage to find so much compassion within themselves that a picture like the one above proves.

How can they endure so much yet still be able to care so much for a friend? They can because the love they had inside of them all along was stronger than anything else.

I was talking to a Vietnam veteran a few hours ago and he had the usual impression about coming home. He said all of his friends changed while he was gone. He didn't feel as if he fitted in anymore. I asked him if he thought his friends changed or if he was the one who changed. He said looking back he guessed he changed.

They leave the rest of us and go places none of us can really understand. They do things none of us will ever know. They return home to family and friends frozen in time, worrying about the same old tiny problems, the same drive to buy more things, go out and enjoy life while the veteran has taken a look at the other side of the world. His view has changed. He sees things differently and one thing he notices in the people in his life is they have no idea.

They have no patience for us not feeling like going into work because they spent a year of 24-7 risking their lives when they felt like it and when they didn't want to. One member of the family takes long showers when they were lucky if they had a few in the whole year. They can't stand greed when people have more than they need but won't share because they just left other people with very little but a huge desire to share what little they had with them.

There is so much more that we keep missing about them but I believe you get the point. They did not let go of the compassion they had for others no matter what they went through but we blame them when they don't snap out of it and go back to the way they were before. Maybe we should be wondering why we didn't change considering how much someone we cared about just went through. How can we hold the same set of values and hang onto petty complaints when they just got back from hell? Yet even in that hell called a war, they found people with compassion, mercy and love no matter what was happening there.

The Old Testament is filled with God's wrath but the New Testament is filled with His love. Some still cannot come to terms with what freewill is anymore than they can accept the evil man is capable of doing to others. They want to blame God, say He doesn't care, because that is easier than facing the truth that as long as there is someone caring about another person, He lives right there. God was there all along because they were there and still able to care.