THE SUMMER I WANTD TO END IT ALL

Several years ago I wrote a small witnessing tract as a brief testimony of one summer in my life.

On June 4, 1967, I graduated from a small college in Arkansas. Little did I know of the traumatic and life-changing events that were to take place in the next few days.  On June 14, I turned 22 years of age.  On June 20, I reported for active duty with the Navy.  On July 24, the day before I was to ship out to Viet Nam, my wife of a year and half died in my arms while visiting me in San Diego.  In August I flew half-way around the world to catch my ship in the South China Sea, off the coast of Viet Nam.

It would be an understatement to say I was lonely and scared as I left behind family and friends, would I ever see them again?  Loneliness like I had never experienced in my life swept over me.  Thoughts of suicide came and went in my mind.  I did not want to go on living.

With such tragic hurts you would think that I would have turned to alcohol to drown my sorrows.  That would have only sedated my hurts for a few hours then I would have had to sober up.  If I turned to drugs, again I would have only sedated the hurt for a few hours.

No, there was only one thing for me to do, I turned to the God of the Bible through His Son, Jesus Christ.  The circumstances did not change but I now had peace and support in the midst of my sorrow and grief.  The lonelinees became bearable because there was Someone else carrying it with me.  Jesus Christ became my Burden Bearer, my Peace, my Friend, my Savior.  Without Him I would have killed myself during the summer of 1967.

Are you lonely, afraid. sick, facing life without hope, run out of answers and options?  Turn to Hm now and face life with  new hope.

None of us know what the next day, hour, minute holds.  Why go through life with only your own strength?

Praise the Lord God Almighty who is and was and is to come!