True Story: WWII had ended. And yet . . . for about thirty
years afterwards Tom, haunted by the ugly scenes that he’d witnessed when engaged in the theatre of war,
agonized deeply—tortured especially by the fact that he’d killed fellow human
beings. He eventually sank into the dark dungeon of depression and despair.
One day in the mid-1970s, while alone in his house, he
took his shotgun and, in a suicide attempt, blew off a large portion of his
face. Amazingly, help reached him in time, and he survived.
After much reconstructive surgery, including the fashioning of a new jawbone from another bone and graft tissue from elsewhere in his body, Tom was on the road to physical recovery. Yet the emotional wounds persistently pained him. Until . . .
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I don't have Tom's photo.
Pictured here is my late father-in-law.
Following the Normandy Invasion he
was assigned to the British Liberation
Army, and was the only one of four
school buddies to return home alive.
He didn't like to talk about it.
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After much reconstructive surgery, including the fashioning of a new jawbone from another bone and graft tissue from elsewhere in his body, Tom was on the road to physical recovery. Yet the emotional wounds persistently pained him. Until . . .
Until the psychological and spiritual prisons that led
to his committing that desperate act were broken open and demolished.
A neighbour of Tom’s—a pastor friend of mine—visited with him and gently encouraged him during his long journey towards
physical recovery, sharing faith and hope in the love of Jesus. Other Christian
folk also came by. Tom, like a prisoner of war and hungry for relief was
finally heart-ready to be set free from the shackles that held him bound; ready to
find the peace that had eluded him all those years.
Tom opened up his life to God and received Jesus Christ as his Saviour. He experienced a palpable sense of forgiveness and release, peace and wholeness. It was for real! Hungry
for more of this grace, he and his wife began attending a supportive Christian
fellowship.
I shared many a conversation with Tom, for I also became his neighbour, during his continuing journey of healing and faith.
I shared many a conversation with Tom, for I also became his neighbour, during his continuing journey of healing and faith.
Quite some years ago I wrote about Tom, and suggested that until He received the healing presence of Jesus into his life he’d remained, in effect, a 'POW'— prisoner of war,
although the war had long before been fought and won.
Many people live like POWs, even though, through His
death and resurrection, Jesus Christ won our war against the forces of evil and
the sinful nature that are at enmity against the goodness, grace and will of
God.
Do you remain imprisoned within yourself—bound up in
chains of sorrow, anger, unforgiveness, guilt, unfounded fear and wounded pride,
and more? Is your heart broken, in a state of perpetual fragmentation, because you’ve been unwilling to let Jesus heal
it?
May God grant this year’s Remembrance Day season to be
one in which you are released from any prison cells of the soul that have too long held you in spiritual chains. It will be a Remembrance Day season well worth remembering.
A Prayer:
Dear God our Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift
of Your Son, who shed His blood on the ‘battlefield’ of the Cross to secure my
pardon. I claim Your forgiveness of all my sins. Cleanse me, renew my spirit
and mind, and lead me in Your way everlasting. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
~~+~~
Peter is a retired pastor – well, sort of retired – as he is currently engaged as an associate volunteer pastor. He lives in Southwestern Ontario with his wife, May, and writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column and occasional magazine articles. Peter is author of two books: "Parables from the Pond" (Word Alive Press) and "Raise Your Gaze . . . Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart" (Angel Hope Publishing). He and May are also engaged in leading nursing home / residential chapel services, pulpit supply and music. ~+~
