3 Years Later

It has been 3 years since I played soldier in Iraq. I don't hunger to go back although I am ready for the next deployment if the opportunity comes knocking.

No anxiety, no strong desire for adrenaline inducing activities. I would say I am back to "normal", but my short time in Iraq changed me in some fundamental and needed ways. I can say I like and appreciate the new normal I have settled into.

I have owned three motorcycles and a few vehicles since returning from Iraq. As far as bikes I started with a 68 CB350 cafe that i wish I hadn't sold, then bought an 84 CB700SC sport tourer and now I have a 07 VTX1300C. 4 wheeled vehicles; I bought a 95 Civic EX when I returned from Iraq, then an 89 Trooper (gave the Civic to my son for graduation and sold the Trooper to an old friend), traded the 84 CB700SC for a 2012 Civic Si, then 6 months later traded the Civic Si for a 2013 Ford F150 (Honda has great trade in value and Ford was offering really great incentives). After I bought the VTX1300C I gave the truck to my wife and I now have her 2000 Expedition for stormy/ icy days. I think I am good for a while though as my wife loves the truck and I love my bike. Who knows.

Spiritually, I have never been closer to GOD or JESUS and have never been more comfortable in my own skin than I am now. I have an admiration for the WORD of GOD as opposed to some mystical hope for the absorption of wisdom through merely reading the words in the Holy Bible. Honestly, in the past I tried to read the bible as fast as I could comprehend like I needed to read the entire bible on some one year plan and was missing out on the wisdom I could derive from GOD's WORD.

My time in Iraq was a needed 6 months away from the influences of daily life. I get sabbaticals now, i mean I understood the need for time away, but having enough time to truly contemplate the direction one's life is heading and to take an honest look at how one's philosophies are affecting one's decisions is invaluable.

I can see with complete clarity how empty and void the new age movement is. Evil cloaked as peace. That may sound extreme, but the truth is what the truth is.