Wounded Warriors

A while back, I saw a clip on the news about an organization called the Wounded Warrior Project ... a clip that moved me to tears as I watched it. Trust me, you should Google the group and read some of the stories of the wounded warriors ... stories of amazing men and women who have sacrificed so very much to protect the freedom so many of us take for granted. I think the logo for the group best tells the mission of the organization ... one soldier carrying another on his shoulders ... a strong warrior carrying his fellow warrior who is wounded. It's a powerful visual of honor and integrity ... it's a powerful visual of what love can do ... love can carry a wounded brother or sister to a safe place ... love can save, love can heal, love can restore.

On my wrist I wear a bracelet, a gift from a dear friend a year or so ago. There are words engraved on the bracelet ... words in Hebrew. I've only told a handful of people what the words mean, including a friend at work yesterday. One of the words is "warrior" ... and as my friend looked at my bracelet, I said, "I'd like to be a warrior ... just for a few minutes, I'd like to be a warrior." But what I really meant was that I'd like to be the strong warrior rather than the wounded one ... I'd like to be the one who carries my sister or brother to a safe place. There have been a few times in my life when I've been one ... a strong warrior, that is ... times when I've helped a fellow soldier of life when he or she had been wounded. But over the last few months, more than ever before in my life, I've been the one who's been carried ... carried on shoulders of love ... shoulders of love ... love that saves, love that heals, love that restores.

As I read the stories of the soldiers who are involved in the Wounded Warrior Project, I was struck by something, something big. Some of the wounded warriors have injuries that are very visible like missing limbs or massive facial scars. But others ... others have no outward signs of their injuries because their wounds are within their hearts and minds. It's those soldiers, the ones whose wounds are buried inside, those are the ones who speak the most deeply to me. The soldiers who are fighting a constant internal battle are the ones who touch my soul ... I understand those warriors in a very real way because I know about buried wounds, wounds that no one else sees. I know all too well about the battle of the mind ... all too well indeed. Here's the thing ... you know there's always a thing with me, right? The thing is that the soldiers in the Wounded Warrior Project take care of each other ... their main mission and purpose is to help one another heal from wounds they incurred in the midst of a fight. Those warriors ... those brave, courageous warriors ... were wounded as they fought for something worth fighting for ... they were wounded as they fought for freedom ... your freedom and mine.

Remember what I said at the beginning of this post about the logo of the Wounded Warrior Project? One strong warrior carrying another who is wounded ... that's the way it should be, friends, that's the way it should be for us, too. We should carry each other when we are wounded, help each other heal when we are hurt, lead each other when we can't see the light. But so often ... so very often ... instead of reaching out, instead of shouldering the pain, instead of carrying the burden, we wound ... we wound and we wound and we wound. Rather than lifting our brother or sister to our shoulders and carrying them to a safe place, we leave them wounded and bleeding on the ground. Even as I type those words, there are tears falling from my eyes ... tears of remorse for the wounds I've inflicted, tears of hurt for the wounds I've received, tears of gratitude for the strong warriors who are lifting me up and carrying me to safety.

I thought of something else when I saw the logo for the Wounded Warrior Project ... I thought of a man carrying a cross ... the Son of God carrying the cross of my sin. Jesus carried the burdens of every wounded warrior ... of this wounded warrior ... He carried every single one of them ... every single one. He carried every single burden because of love ... love that saves, love that heals, love that restores. 

"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions." Galatians 6:2-4