Daddy and I went to the dedication of the new leader of our church yesterday. It was the sort of event you would have loved. Your Army family were out in force (a relatively large group of us went, after the 2 o'clock open air on Oxford Street), and the International Staff Songsters and the International Staff Band were there. You would have particularly enjoyed the Songsters, because we were sat right next to them, so you could have conducted their singing to your heart's content.
The entire event was broadcast live on the internet - it might still be there for you to watch one day. Aside from thinking about what you would have made of the day, General Bond's comments pose an interesting challenge to Daddy and I.
Having had our eyes opened (by our own direct experience) to the suffering that hundreds of thousands of families go through every year in the family courts, Daddy and I cannot close our eyes and our hearts to that suffering. Now that we have seen the injustice enacted daily; now that we have experienced the effects of it across the whole family; and now that we appreciate the long term consequences both for the individuals concerned and society as a whole, we cannot go back to the blissful ignorance we lived in before.
Daddy has faithfully and persistently sought to bring the plight of those hundreds of thousands of families to the attention of our leaders, so that we might look as an organisation to bring our ministry to the many people mired in despair, and being eaten up by hate in the midst of these family battles.
To our genuine surprise, Daddy's requests for meetings with those in leadership roles has been met with a determined resolve to remain blind to the issue. Those in authority have sought to use Daddy's individual case and their personal feelings about Daddy as grounds to ignore both the wider societal ill and the opportunity for ministry that God has offered.
What those trying to silence us haven't banked on is this: this is not a matter for the Army to choose whether it wishes to notice or not. Daddy and I know that we have been called to ministry - and to this particular ministry. Daddy and I are convinced that the Lord has exposed him to the heartache and distress of the last year so that we might see and understand the need, and so that we can do something about it.
We hoped the Army would be a mission partner. We have offered every opportunity. But the Army needs to know that we won't sit on our hands whilst it wakes up to the issue. If the Army isn't with us, we won't go away dejected: we will draw strength from the Lord and we will do it anyway.
General Bond yesterday said that the Army must listen to its soldiers. Her vision is of a Spirit-filled Army reaching out to bring the light and love of Jesus to the suffering in the world.
For the time being, the Army doesn't want to listen to its soldiers. It is determined to try to make the problem go away by adopting the playground technique of putting its fingers in its ears and pretending not to hear, supplemented by a bit of good old-fashioned name calling.
Daddy and I must draw on the rivers of living water and call in the promise that we will have strength and resources enough for the task.
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