Back in the Saddle

Well, we have now been an Active Duty Chaplain family for 6 months and so far it has been quite an experience. Darrell is in his element but the amount of pressure he is under can, at times, be unbelievable. I think that the Chaplain Corps is one of the most under appreciated facets of our military right now. They work incredibly hard at a very emotionally draining job and yet are seen as weak because they do not enter physical combat. Trust me when I say that our military Chaplains battle daily with forces we cannot see or understand whether it is religious, physical, or mental. They have to be able to treat all soldiers diplomatically even when that soldier wants to do nothing to help themselves. They also are on constant call and have a hard time even making definite plans with their family because they never know when a crisis is going to come up. They are a pastor and counselor along with being a Soldier. Darrell is the low man on the totem pole in a small Battalion but still has over 400 soldiers whose mental/emotion well being he is responsible for. I pray daily for all our Chaplains that God will give them the strength they need to deal with the constant emotional upheaval and for their families who deal with it second hand.