Epiphany Veterans Have Something To Give Back Again

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 4, 2015

I haven't been to church for a long time but this morning I felt I had to go. It always seemed as if there was one more thing to do, before I knew it, it was too late to get ready for church. I try to justify my absence by what I always tell veterans about not needing to go to church to be connected to God and forgiven. After all, Christ prayed more outside than in a temple, so it really doesn't matter where we are when we talk to God.

When Christ taught the people gathered together how to pray it was one to the One and they were to call Him Father. Most of the time this works for a lot of people like me, but lately, I've been feeling as if there was something missing. Doing what I do gets draining at times. As a matter of fact, sometimes it is downright soul sucking. I needed to go and take care of myself so I had something to give back again.

When the Greek part of the service was being read, as usual I needed something else to occupy my mind since I don't understand Greek. I tried to remember when the last time was I wrote about how beautiful the Bible really is and how powerful the stories are. Not only couldn't I remember when it was but I couldn't remember when I felt connected enough to write about what I preach about.

Anyway, sitting in church it didn't dawn on me that in a few days Greeks celebrate the Epiphany.

Christian Orthodox Epiphany
Epiphany, Christian Orthodox
January 6 (Gregorian calendar) or January 19 (Julian calendar)
Epiphany is a celebration by the Eastern Orthodox Christian churches of the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan and the manifestation of his divinity when a dove descended on him. For Orthodox Christians around the world it is called Blessing of the Waters Day . In honor of the baptism of Christ, the church's baptismal water is blessed, and small bottles of the holy water are given to parishioners to take home.

The Priest talked about how that one day the Holy Trinity First appeared together. The Son baptised by John, with the voice of God being heard and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as a Dove.

This didn't happen in a building with walls and collection plates. No one was dressed up. As a matter of fact, John had on camel fur and leather with long hair and a scrungy beard. He would have put reality TV folks to shame considering his diet existed of locust and honey. Did I mention John was homeless and lived in caves?

We tend to forget that Christ was homeless most of His life and that was no accident. It was no accident that He lives His life, preached of God's love and ended up nailed to the Cross as payment for the sins of the world.

The Priest today talked about how we make New Year Resolutions to be better than we were last year. I thought about that for a while. Then I thought how it would be better for lives to be made better than they were last year.

So many veterans are suffering because they believe they cannot be forgiven yet there is nothing they cannot be forgiven for. It isn't up to us to judge if they should feel the way they do or not but it is our job to help them see they can have that huge burden lifted off their shoulders if we take the time to help them carry it until they are free of it.

Some cannot forgive what others did and that destroys how they feel about other people. It is our job to help them find a way to forgive so the pain in their eyes is replaced by that which is still good within them.

It is by what is good inside of them they grieve. It fills them up so much so that they don't have room to feel love or to believe they are worthy of being loved.

The majority of veterans I talk to believe in God but won't go to church anymore. They don't have to. The flip side is, once they are healed, most want to find a church where they feel they belong to refuel.

The only reason a veteran commits suicide is they lose hope that tomorrow will be any better than this day is. It is our fault we made them feel like that because we complicated their lives with too much nonsense.

If they felt they were called to serve in the military, then be assured God doesn't make mistakes. He put them on this earth to be the guardians. Everything they need to fulfill their calling is already within their souls. Their courage to do what they need to do coupled with compassion to care enough to do it. Everything they need to heal is also within them but we've failed at showing them how to reconnect to everything that made them, them.

When I see the pain leave their eyes and they find peace with all they had to endure, there is no greater gift. PTSD cannot be cured but it can be healed. They are not trapped as they are this moment but are free to heal enough to change again.

If you are a veteran Point Man International Ministries has a special Bible for you.

Contact me by email woundedtimes@aol.com or go to the site and find an Outpost in your area. Let this be the year of your own Epiphany and let next year be the year of you helping other veterans heal as well.