Hope in the Dark

Article published Dec. 30, 2009

Meade County Messenger

Hope in the Dark

by Kevin Hatfield

Radio transmission… (Widowmaker main…Widowmaker main…we are under fire, repeat we are under fire…over) (Understand Sable… under fire… Widowmaker 23 and 26 are patrolling your sector… Move back to adjacent rally point... They are coming in hot…Over)

It was one of the darkest nights I had seen since I’ve been here in Afghanistan.  We breached the compound and had taken up position on the rooftop next to the main building.  Everything was going according to plan.  Intel said the high value target was inside, when it all started.

We threw flash bang grenades in through a window and rounds came out from everywhere.  There was a machine gunner inside a tower just on the far side of the building dug in deep.  We returned fire but the rounds were flying both ways.

We could hear the apache coming when the cannons opened up.  Widowmaker 23 put a hundred rounds through the windows and doors.  Tracer rounds exploded when they hit. I had to look away because it was so bright.  We threw everything we had at the building. Parts of the wall were falling; we could hear the bullets flying by and see the grenades explode. It was so loud… oh, I could hardly think. It looked like the Fourth of July.  I could see everything like a spotlight had lit up the courtyard. I couldn’t believe anybody was left alive inside.  Then I felt the hit…

Radio transmission… (Medivac!!… Medivac!! We have a man down!  Extract from rally point bravo ASAP!!!)  (Negative Sable…LZ (landing zone) to hot, repeat LZ to hot...)

I woke up at Walter Reed hospital.  I was doing better according to the doctors.  I ask my wife what happened.  She told me an officer came to get her and said I had been shot, but was stable.  They flew me back here for treatment.  My squad leader, Sgt. Machmehan, called about a week ago to check on me and share some details. I had taken a direct fire through the chest and fell from the rooftop into the courtyard.  They dragged me out to the rally point but the Medivac couldn’t pick me up because we were still under fire.

Seems one of the Apaches, Widowmaker 23 flew me out to the refueling point to meet the Medivac.  I tried to explain to her that wasn’t right because it only holds two people and it takes two pilots to fly.  Then she told me the rest of the story…

Widowmaker 23, the flight leader, had taken rounds which degraded his aircraft and wouldn’t fire the weapons.  Widowmaker 26, his flight wingman, took over the engagement and 23 moved above to observe and handle radio communications.  He heard the Medivac call… He also heard Sable say you would die if you weren’t evacuated.  Widowmaker 23 landed in the hot LZ and put out his copilot to make room for you.  He flew you back to meet the Medivac at the refueling station without weapons, no copilot, and came back for another person before picking up the other pilot.

I’ve thought that night through a thousand times as I work my way through rehab. The sounds still haunt me in the night but now I’m not alone. We each find ourselves in our own darkness, when we think we have no hope. But I remember a special promise.  Jesus said He would never leave us or never forget us. In my darkness he sent a pilot who against all odds carried me to safety.  He carried me to a new beginning, one with hope. 

When the night falls in around me… I don’t think I’ll make it through… I’ll use your light to guide the way… All I think about is you… 


Dedicated to my dearest friend...
CW3 Marcus Hazel
101st Airborne Division

Coming Home

Article published Dec. 23, 2009
Meade County Messenger

Coming Home

By Kevin Hatfield

The dawning sun sparkled across the frosty grass looking out my kitchen window.  The house was still quiet and peaceful as I reached for the coffee pot and began my day.  The wind was blowing outside and I couldn’t help myself but to crack the door open just enough to feel the cold air.  It was so crisp and clean as it blew winter’s edge through the doorway.  Kind of refreshing it seems, unhindered in some ways, brutal in others.  It’s been three years since I’ve felt this kind of cold.  Three years since that cold chilled me to the bones.  Aw… but what three years will do.  But that’s the story isn’t it?

And when they had done all the things according to the law they (Mary, Joseph, and Jesus) returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth to start a new life.  And Jesus grew strong and in the ways of God. (Luke 2)

I lay awake that night, three years ago, about an hour before the shelter opened.  I’ll never forget that feeling, waiting for the sun to rise so I could make my way from the rail yard to the shelter to get warmed up.  Each minute passed slowly, I could hear the wind then too, but then it meant something totally different to me, it meant death.  I couldn’t feel anything, but yet everything hurt in some way, almost frozen to my bed of boxes. My cardboard ‘house’ didn’t slow the wind down much, and many of my kind had lost this battle on nights like this. At dawn I walked best I could into the shelter’s warmth when I was greeted by a child no more than eleven with a smile and “Good morning.”

Good I thought and ignored her as I passed.  “Good morning, sir!” again she insisted.  “Did you see my button?”  I turned to face her almost angrily and there it was, a button proudly proclaiming, “CLEAN the air, use kind words.” In bold green letters.   I couldn’t help myself, I had to laugh, how ridicules a thought this was in my circumstances.  A second ago I just about polluted it with profanity, but somehow this young girl reached into my frozen heart.  You see I was a father once, before tragedy struck my life.  That coupled with bad choices and no will to go on led me here today.  Nothing to cry about, that’s just the way it is.

I moved through the breakfast line, but made my way back towards our door greeter just to hear the brightness in her voice.  It was no problem finding a seat near the door.  The air blew in every time it opened and nobody wanted to be reminded that soon we would all be back outside in the cold again.  I watched her greet each person with the same enthusiasm as they entered.  It didn’t even seem to bother her that we smelled bad. She was filled with so much joy, if she was nervous it didn’t show.  I HAD to know; there had to be a story behind this button.  So as I eat my grits and toast, I ask, “Where did you get that button?”  She smiled the biggest smile and proudly proclaimed “Sunday School.”  She began to tell me about kindness and how our words carry feelings.  She reminded me so much of my little girl so long ago...

I left the shelter that day.  I thought about what she told me about being kind and how our words carry feelings.  Feelings… the more I thought about it the more I realized how long it had been since I had real feelings.  I thought about this for a long time and finally let myself feel again. And when I did, the floodgates of old emotions came pouring out.  I cried for most of the day.  I thought of my little girl, that died so young, and my wife. Oh, how I missed them. At last, I settled in on the thoughts of how I got here.

That night I don’t think I slept at all. My mind raced through the years and times past.  I barely felt the cold.  I felt like I had finally found myself again.  I couldn’t get over that little girl.  Why was she there?  Why was she so happy?  Who was she?  And that button “CLEAN the air, use kind words.”

The next couple of months were a whirlwind of change.  It all began with those kind words from a little girl that encouraged me.  After going through a series of shelters and half way houses, with some help from community programs, I found a place of my own.  I started a job at the grocery store, stocking and cleaning at night.  My world had flipped from homeless to hopeful all because of one little girl and a button.

As time went on I settled into a good position at the grocery store chain, and found myself managing a small store not too far from the shelter. I walked passed one day; I couldn’t believe how far my life had come since that cold winter morning.  Now, when the cold wind blows, I think about how I got a second chance at life.  That cold wind is refreshing now. Looking back, it blew in CLEAN air and one small girl.

Mary and Joseph left for Bethlehem but it was over two years before they made their way back home.  And even though Nazareth was home to them now, their lives had changed more than they could have dreamed.  Many of us make plans and goals that don’t turn out the way we hoped because of life’s circumstances.  But the one thing that remains a constant, Love.  Kindness in the story is an extension of a Love that can only be found in God.  Kind words and actions can make differences in people’s lives.  It creates hope, encouragement, and strength.  As this Christmas season comes to a close and things get back to normal, I hope you find it unusual.  By that I mean, I hope you’ve found Love.  The Christmas gift of Love that God gave us in Jesus is a kindness that is meant for every heart to feel and to share.  It’s my hope, it’s my prayer, that you have found your CLEAN air… in Love.

Disconnected

Article published on Dec. 16, 2009

Meade County Messenger

Disconnected

By Kevin Hatfield

The room was dimly light as he stood as the foot of her bed.  Just a few short years ago she was a baby laying in his arms, and now his little girl of ten lay sleeping.  So many nights he tucked her in with bedtime stories and saying prayers side by side on their knees.  A great relationship these two have, she’s daddy’s little girl.  But tonight all that happiness seems to have faded off in the distance.  Tonight is another night by her hospital bed.

He wonders “why? She’s just a child?”  But sometimes life doesn’t give us these answers.  So the loving hugs and smiles they shared were replaced with just lifeless sleep.  No story time, no butterfly kisses, only the memories of how it used to be, how it was supposed to be.  Now it’s just him watching her, instead of them, together.  He felt as if he had a hole in his life, an absence that he couldn’t fill.  He would do anything to make it like it was, before this.

Wise men from east of Jerusalem had heard the old prophetic stories their whole lives, of how God would send a savior to the world to save all of his people.  The story passed down from family to family, generation to generation.  Much like grandma sitting in her rocking chair sharing wisdom to the grandchildren at her feet… “I remember when I was young…” But when a bright star in the east appeared the wise men knew they had to see for themselves.  They journeyed far, day and night, to find this small child.  They came with the hopes of offering three small gifts and to worship him.  When they found him with Mary they did just that.  They knew, and saw with there very eyes, this king told in the old stories.

God sat at the edge of heaven looking down at the people on the earth, much like the father overlooking his daughter’s bed.  He couldn’t stand to see them suffer.  So he sent a special gift to the earth, a child to born to Mary that would change everything.  Funny thing is a gift that is never opened isn’t much of a gift.  A present must be received to be something special.  This Christmas find your present and open it. It’s filled with a relationship founded in Love.  Like the wise men found out for themselves, it’s worth it.

He was sitting in the chair by her bed when she squeezed his hand, “Daddy?”  “Yes honey!!!”  “I love you.”  “I love you too.  Doctor says we get to go home tomorrow.”  “Okay.  Will you read to me?” “You bet I will.”

Never forget what you have. 

The Innocence

Article Published in the Meade Co. Messenger on December 9, 2009

by Kevin Hatfield

The day had been a long one, filled with the usual pressures, as Karl finished his evening sitting at his desk, staring face to face with his laptop.  The coffee he nursed filled the study with rich aroma as his daughter walked in.  She asked if she could do her homework in here with him if she promised to be quiet.  Karl agreed, knowing she would be hard pressed to keep her promise, but he let her anyway.  In the background he had his usual selection of music faintly playing a soothing sound of worship that drifted through the air.

He was hard focused on his task at hand trying to meet a deadline, when soft humming caught his attention.  He paused, and then looked over his screen to see his youngest girl fully engrossed in her math, but humming to the music just the same.
The song played on and she continued never missing a beat, completely oblivious to her harmonic sounds.  What he saw was a glimpse of pure innocence.  Her face changing as she thought through her homework,
almost angelic in beauty. Daddy’s girl didn’t know the true evils of this world yet, and was completely content sharing the study with her Daddy. He felt a lump swell up in his throat and a tear came to his eye. All he could do was watch and share in song of her heart.

Mary was in the manger when the shepherds came in.  Telling a story about an angel, and how they followed a star just to see this baby. When they had finished she looked down at Jesus in her arms, Joseph by her side, and saw true innocence. A baby born, given to all of mankind for one purpose, to share the perfect gift, Love.  She pondered these things in her heart.

Many years later, she watched the terrible scene of her son being beaten, and then paraded through the streets of town to full fill that gift of love.  As he hung on the cross in open shame before all, she again remembered that night so long ago, and could still see the innocence.

Karl and many of us will spend Christmas with family and friends this year hoping we bought the right presents.  Wondering how we shall recover from all the spending.  But the real Christmas is celebrated in our hearts, sharing in a story of love and kindness, filled with peace and joy.

This year let’s get past the usual and find what Karl found right in front of him. This Christmas besides enjoying family and feast, find the true innocence.  God has pulled up two chairs, sat down, invited you over, and said “Let’s talk.”

The Shepherds

Article Published Dec. 2,2009 Meade Co. Messenger

The Shepherds

By Kevin Hatfield

The gentle evening breeze blew out the fading sun as the shepherds’ day came to an end. The sun had been especially hot and they were tired as they put the animals down for the night. With all today’s activities coming to a close they settled down around a small fire, snacking on a small meal, and reminiscing the struggles of their day. As dusk faded into dark and their conversation wound down something happened that would change their lives forever…

As we approach Christmas this year we come face to face with difficult challenges. We find ourselves in precarious times, the worst recession in my adult lifetime, a weakening dollar, record unemployment, foreclosures, and a troubled real estate market, to say the least. Safe to say Christmas couldn’t come at a worse time for many families in our area. But with all these pressures there is still hope.

Times are changing and we must change with them. Our culture of .coms, huge profits, and excessive living have come to a close. We must adapt our lifestyles to fit our budgets; get back to the basics if you will.

Vincent Lombardi, all American football coach began each season with a lecture to veteran players and rookies alike. Holding up a football in one hand and said, “This is a football…” Get back to the fundamental basics.

The basics: In generations past, before the big economic boom, families helped families, neighbors knew each other, and people took care of people. Christmas wasn’t about how big the gift was, or how much we spent. It was about families getting together and sharing. It was about celebrating Christmas a time of joy, not worries, and financial pressures. It was about Love and the first present, the real gift.

The story I started with is a back story of what might have happened to the Shepherds you read about in Luke Chapter 2 of your bible. But my question is this; What would cause these shepherds to leave their flock and begin a journey to Bethlehem? What could possibly be so important to them to walk away from everything they had worked for? The answer…Hope.


The shepherds were also in an economic struggle. They were oppressed by a Roman occupation of their country with no end in sight. Taxation to Caesar taking from their ‘pockets’ at every turn. Which is why Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The shepherds knew the stories of a leader that would come and deliver them, but not just some leader, a messiah, a deliverer.


…Just as they were about to fall asleep for the night, a bright light surrounded them, and a group of angels were with them around their fire. They were so scared they couldn’t even move. Then one spoke “Fear not, I bring good tidings of great joy…” The angel told them a baby was going to be born in a manger and to follow the star. They immediately left guided only by the star to the manger to see the hope they had prayed would come. The savior, the messiah, the deliverer of all mankind.



This Christmas we still have this hope. Our present given to us back in Bethlehem is love. A love that is much more important than anything we could purchase this year. Better than the toys or electronics that will become old and outdated. It’s something that will last and see us through our struggles. It’s a love that is bigger than just some empty story, it’s a love that will guide you to help a neighbor in hard times. Give you support from a church family as you struggle. It will help you make good decisions, and direct you to be a better person. And it’s already paid for.

It led shepherds to leave all they had to find, and guide you back to find all you left chasing the American dream.

This Christmas let’s find the basics in our homes: Faith, Hope, and Love. The real present is Love. And that’s a Christmas worth celebrating.

Justice - Third Newspaper Article

Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Thank you for your encouragement and support in all that is going on. I saved this article for this week, it was a touching moment in our lives and a prime example that everything is an event we can learn from.

The following weeks will include a video blog, if the technical aspects can be handled appropriately, and the details of the Haiti trip.

Article #3 Justice

The judge comes back into the courtroom and the bailiff addresses the court. “Would the defendant please rise.” The Judge smacks the gavel and says “I hereby sentence you to 20 years for the crime of…”

Sentencing…what a grim time, all hope is lost. Rules; as parents we are not only the law makers for our families, but also detectives, judges, and executioners (so-to-speak). The kids do pretty well as their own defense counselor and it’s usually quite a defense. I’d like to share a story from my household of such a trial.

One of my children came to a crossroad decision involving a sucker of the most desirable flavor that she wanted, but it belonged to someone else. Overtaken with desire…she took it, knowing it was wrong, but committed this offense just the same. When she began to eat it in the presence of her sister, the sibling with a prosecutor’s enthusiasm proclaimed her crime to my wife. Both of my children are great kids, but kids do sometimes learn the hard way. As my wife put on her detective hat to determine the validity of the case, a tear filled confession was heard. Now since I wasn’t present 1st hand, my wife ruled over the case. In light of the confession she moved to the sentencing.

Every crime carries its own punishment. Some are just minor infractions that can be handled with simple disapproval and a verbal reprimand. But some like the ‘Big Ten’ from the bible receive maximum punishment, which refers to the “Rod”, a wooden paddle we keep hanging in the laundry room. Just before the execution is to take place, I felt the usual feeling of mercy wash over me, not wanting my daughter to go through this. Then, I felt in my heart a way to teach a lesson in her time of crisis. I stayed the hand of justice for a few minutes to remind her of how Christ came to earth to save us from our sins, not by mercy, but by taking our punishment for us on the cross. But, here in this situation, a full reprieve wasn’t justified. Therefore, I volunteered to take half of her punishment for her. So my daughter and I bent over the couch holding hands and received two licks each. The three of us shared a moment of embrace and then I told her, like Christ from the cross “It is done.” Sentence served.

Maybe you’ll find my methods unusual or uncanny but my youngest daughter will remember the cross and her salvation in a memorable way. And my wife had a dream come true (She’d been threatening to spank me for years).

This Christmas, don’t miss the opportunity to share in God’s love with your children. One day, we all will sit in front of God’s judgment seat and I want to hear “It is done. Sentence Served!” Don’t miss the real reason for Christmas.

Lord,
Bless the people of Meade Co. with the knowledge of your undying love. Help us see your goodness in this season and find that special gift called Christ. In Jesus name… Amen




Kevin

Remember Look up, Live Life, and be Thankful

Speed bumps - Newspaper article for this week

Here's this weeks article for our local paper. Enjoy.


Speed bumps

On this journey we call life; one thing is not only for certain, but a guarantee. That is…we will encounter life’s little troubles. Some of them are major redirections, while others only slow us down, like speed bumps. How we handle these troubles usually determines which kind they are.

We had an incident the other day. A young man slid off the road and ended up smashed into our church building. No one was seriously hurt, but there was a lot of damage. People usually react in hostility when they feel someone has wronged them in some way. For instance, have you ever seen an accident where one driver is in an irate storm and screaming at the other? We can take these times of trouble and dwell on the negative and become redirected. Or, we can treat them like speed bumps…minor inconveniences’ that slow us down but not off course.

In our case, no one was present at the time of the accident. But upon the news, the leaders rallied the troops, did an assessment, called the necessary people, and began to make needed repairs to open the church. Life must go on. Church was scheduled to open later that evening and did so on time.

The nice young man did stop by to apologize for the damage he had caused, which gave us the opportunity to do one of two things; play the blame game and act like the irate driver mentioned above, or make sure he was okay and use this opportunity to show kindness. He unwillingly touched our church family, but in doing so became the object of our family’s prayers.
Christ didn’t come to save church buildings, but to change people’s lives. God is more concerned about our character than our circumstances. If we can affect this young driver and show him kindness, than this opportunity is a blessing not one of life’s troubles, just a speed bump.

Lord,
We pray for this young man and his family. Let this Christmas season touch him with the kindness only you can provide. Show light into his life and peace into his heart. Touch his body and heal the aches and pains. We are thankful for this opportunity to have met him and to pray with him. We are thankful for the speed bump. In Jesus name… Amen



Kevin

Remember Look up, Live life, and be Thankful

Article in Local Paper this week

Each year about this time Children from around our country start their Christmas list with “Daddy I want this for Christmas, and this, and this, and this.” It’s no secret that the retail industries will do a bulk of this year’s business from now till the end of the year. But what is Christmas? For some it’s a marketing campaign. For some it’s a pagan holiday, for most of us it’s at least a day off, a day of gifts, good eating, and family time.

Christmas isn’t just a calendar day we celebrate the birth of Christ. Christmas’ greatest present is recounted all through the pages of scripture, its stories that teach principles to live by, how to have a relationship with almighty God, His grace through Jesus to forgive our sins. But that isn’t the whole present. Now before I loose you, let me say this, all of those things are very important, but it was not only the Gospels, not even only the forgiveness of sin, but it was God’s love for you that makes up the whole Present. He gave us instructions in the Bible, He gave us Jesus to serve out our sentence for the sins we’ve committed, He gave us a direct phone line to heaven through our prayers, but His love encompasses it all.

He has made a way for us to live this life in relationship with Him, and to prepare for what comes after. We celebrate that with the image of a baby in the manger. God’s gift to the world, His love and forgiveness, his provisions and care, all wrapped up in swaddling clothing in Bethlehem (Luke Chapter 2).

Dear God,
May we never forget what Christmas is all about and teach our children it’s not about what we get, but what you gave. May your peace and love find its way into our homes and into our hearts this Christmas. In Jesus name…Amen


Look up, Live Life, and be thankful.

Kevin