A Soldier, for God and for Country

Seth Greve - April 5, 2013.

Sitting down and listening to my grandfather share bits of elderly wisdom, is one of my favorite pastimes. Born in 1919, he lived through World War 1, survived The Great Depression, and served in World War 2. He was in the U.S. 1st Air Force, 556th Air Warning Battalion, stationed in Iceland, waiting for the signal to move to the German front lines. During the seven months he spent there, he found the Sabbath truth and became a Seventh-Day Adventist. At the same time, unbeknownst to him, his expecting wife visited a Seventh-Day Adventist church and decided that was where she would attend.

They had been writing to each other, both telling the other their new-found faith, but because of the location of my Grandfather's battalion, the mail did not go through during the winter months. So neither of them knew of each other's discoveries.

So my grandfather began to think about where his life was going. He thought about the choices he would make in the military, and out, as a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian. One choice he had to make was whether or not to carry a weapon, while in action. He went to his company commander, and the disappointing conversation left him even more undecided. When his company received the command to move into Germany, in 1945, he still didn't know what to do. Fortunately, that choice became a mute point, as the company received a second order, to turn and go back to the US. When he returned, after a few miscommunications, he was discharged.

His life from that point on was certainly not easy, but through God's grace, his 5 daughters grew up with an amazing father who loved God, and his family. The youngest of his daughters was the one that chose me as her son (I'm adopted).

Grandpa always has wonderful bits of wisdom for his family, reflecting on his strong relationship with his Savior, Friend, and God. This has made an impression on my mind, and gives me a standard to strive for as I grow in my own relationship with Jesus.

This evening during family worship, (April 5, 2013) he spoke of how he woke one early morning, feeling depressed, and God reminded him through a still, small voice, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

Just little things like that, show me what kind of faith one has when they give their life to God.

One Facebook post I recently saw was a picture of a Bible that was marked up, and falling apart. The caption below it said, "A Bible thats falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." That is so true. If your relationship is so with God that your Bible needs to be replaced to make it legible, its likely you know God well.