SEMPER FI
by BJ Reese
God shines the Light of His Love into our lives through our relationships with others. I’ve seen it on many occasions in my own life. Once in a while, though, that Light shines so brilliantly, it takes my breath away and leaves me forever changed. One such occasion came in April of this year, shortly before my older brother, Jim, died . . .
The news that he was terminal had left Jim’s mind racing, to people he wanted to see again while he still had time. At his request, I’d contacted our younger brother, Ed, and my three sons – all of whom live in other states. Miraculously, all of them were able to arrange time off to come see him during the same week – an amazing achievement, since two of them are in the military. Ed & his family, Jim’s girlfriend Debbie, and all three of my sons arrived over the course of Easter weekend, 2011.
The Tuesday after Easter was the first day when we were all here together. Al, a friend of the family who has become a part of our family, was here, helping to see to Jim’s needs. One time while Al was downstairs with him, Jim said he felt as though everyone was avoiding him. When Al told us about it, we all began taking turns sitting in Jim’s room and visiting with him and Debbie. Al’s sister, Amy, and her family were here also, and joined our efforts to make sure Jim didn’t feel neglected or ignored.
By Tuesday evening, a bunch of us had gathered in Jim’s room at the same time. We sat around sharing memories, telling jokes, laughing, singing, and praying. Weak as he was – he’d barely spoken in weeks – you could see the joy in Jim’s eyes. He knew he was loved and cared about, and he truly enjoyed the stories and jokes. He even chimed in with smart-alecky comments a few times.
After we’d been down there a few minutes, my youngest son, Kevin, joined us. He was holding a folded piece of paper in his hands. As he walked into the room, staring down at that paper, I could see a serious expression on his face. “What ya got there, bud?” I asked brightly.
“A song,” he said flatly. “Don’t think I can sing it, though.” He looked very somber. His statement was surprising, since Kevin had spent 12 years in choir at school, and had a beautiful singing voice.
Tony, my oldest son, moved over next to Kevin and peered over his shoulder at the piece of paper. “Tell ya’ what, bro,” he said cheerfully. “I SUCK, but I’ll help ya!”
“Me, too!” Ed chimed in, now standing next to Kevin and glancing over his other shoulder.
They cleared their throats and stood up tall, shoulder-to-shoulder, facing Jim. Then they began to sing. The song on the piece of paper? The Marines’ Hymn – an appropriate choice. Jim’s time in the Marine Corps was among his proudest memories. And the source of a wonderful bond between him and Kevin.
The fact that these three men were standing there, singing a Marine Corps song, was amazing in itself. Kevin is in the Marines, but Tony is in the Army. In his younger days, Ed did some time in the Army. After he got out, he then served a few years in the Coast Guard. Watching them stand in unity was an extraordinary contrast to the rivalry that always exists between the different services. In its own simple way, that gesture alone demonstrated how God’s Presence can overcome any situation and draw people together in a common cause.
As they sang through the three verses on the paper Kevin held, each of them had tears in their eyes. The further into the song they got, the more tears we could see. Soon, all of us had tears streaming down our cheeks. All but Jim, who watched them with a pride in his eyes that reflected a joy I hadn’t seen there in many months. When the boys got into the last verse, they stood even straighter, as though they were “at attention” . . . and their voices grew stronger. When they hit the last four lines of the last verse, their voices grew to a proud, powerful crescendo . . . loud and strong and filled with the pride of unity. A fitting response, when you hear the words of those lines:
“If the Army and the Navy,
ever look on Heaven’s scenes,
they will find the streets are guarded
by United States Marines.”
Everyone in the room joined in as my boys and my younger brother proudly sang those last lines to Jim. By now, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room . . . except for Jim. His eyes fairly shone with the pride of an honored Marine. When the boys finished their song, the three of them embraced, crying openly. From the middle of the embrace, Kevin turned his head toward Jim. “Go guard the gates of Heaven, Uncle Jim,” he sobbed. “Semper fi!” {“Semper Fi” is a shortened version of the Marine Corps motto, “Semper Fidelis”, which means “Always Faithful”}
With a pride and joy I hadn’t seen in his eyes in several months, Jim looked straight at Kevin, Tony, and Ed. It had been many days since he’d said anything that people could easily understand; his speech had become very garbled and mumbly. This time, his words were clear and concise, and everyone in the room heard them. “Semper Fi,” he said softly, but proudly. You could almost see him snap to attention in his mind.
It was one of the most moving moments I’ve ever witnessed in my life. And I truly believe it helped Jim connect to some of his fondest and proudest moments. There’d been many things in his life that he was not proud of, and he’d often doubted that God would still welcome or embrace him, because of those things. I believe that this simple moment helped Jim’s mind and soul remember that he was, at his foundation, a good and wonderful person . . . one in whom God took great pride. In turn, that would help him to accept God’s Embrace when it finally came . . .
Kevin’s simple idea had been designed to honor a fellow Marine – one who was facing the end of his journey on this Earth. To pay tribute to the bond that never fades: “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” the saying goes. To honor that relationship that exists between all men and women who wear a uniform. But it did something far greater for Jim. It helped him return, in his mind, to a place where he could finally accept the relationship God was waiting to have with him. By leading him back to that relationship, these three loving men helped Jim find the Peace he was searching for all his life.
|
|