The Impact of Service

 Sitting around the campfire on many summer nights, I stare into the sky and often ask why I feel different.

Why do I see this thing or that thing differently than someone next to me?

Of course, it is our experiences and how they have impacted us. I know this intuitively. But why? Why? Why?

Many years ago, I made a choice - a decision - that seemed so unlike me that most family thought was crazy. They were right. It was crazy and unlike me. And it was transformative. I joined the Air Force. I signed up and left as quickly as I could. It meant I had not formative plan for a career. I signed up under general mechanics because that is where I fit best in the ASFAB test.

An odd impulse from the universe told me I could be an AFRTS broadcaster, but the recruiter said that would take 6 months, and I could not wait so - sign me up for whatever so I can leave in 2 weeks. I could sign up under mechanic and he could send me in 2 weeks. Off I went to be a mechanic. I was on my way. It is the most stupid decision and the best investment I ever made in my life! The universe had plans.

That odd impulse came from someone who had been an AFRTS broadcaster and taught me to read news in the way he had learned. So, while in basic training, I learned that there was a shortage of broadcasters. I auditioned. The audition was to read news. I passed.

Through the years I have felt that I gained far more than many others because it launched a career for me. I suffered so very little compared to brothers and sisters who served in combat situations. And I heard the stories first hand. They stuck with me.

But I have recently been impacted by an understanding that many of my brothers and sisters HERE in the US have NEVER really felt the impact of life or death decisions. I will humbly submit that it changes you.

I have experienced knowing you may quickly need to choose life for duty. I have huddled in a space knowing that discovery could mean facing death - actually.

I do not wish that on you. But I do wish that you would listen and hear. I wish that you could see through another's eyes. I wish that it would drive you to humility in a way that allows broader understanding.

I have shied away from waving my flag of service. Maybe I need to wave it more. The best investment you can make is service. I know that and understand it more clearly as the years pass. Service brings a greater sense of humility for may of us. 

Serve others. Serve something bigger. It will be transformative. It will be the best investment you ever make.