Change is a word thrown around a lot these days, especially relative to the direction our nation is heading. Many clamor for a different direction, and often for valid reasons. Change for change’s sake, however, doesn’t necessarily mean forward progress. It takes making an accurate assessment, one characterized by careful thought and wisdom. It also takes integrity, courage, and sacrifice.

Let’s consider the need for a change in direction at the personal level. Truthfully, more is said about change than done. Why? Because most change is not easy, and we tend to be creatures of habit. We like things the way they are. For some, change can seem like a ‘near death’ experience!

How about you? Are you a person who readily tackles and succeeds in making changes in your life?

But suppose you sense that it is time to get serious about changing your direction in one or more areas of our lives. How do you start?

Going back to the example of traveling thru the jungles of Viet Nam, it was critical to know our location and direction. As the platoon leader, I would periodically call my squad leaders together for a map and azimuth check.’ This simply meant that we would use the combination of a map and lensatic compass to determine our present location and to verify that we were moving in the right direction toward our destination. Simply looking at the surrounding area wouldn’t work. By using a team approach, we consistently got it right.

Making course adjustments in our individual lives takes effort, and I’ve personally found that I need more than myself. I need God’s Word and counsel, and I need the help, support, and encouragement of others whom I respect.

Veterans, I would not presume to tell any of you that you need to change your direction. But I will confess that I need to make changes and I’m in that process as I write. I am determined to succeed, but I also know some change can be hard. I’m going to give it my best effort.

Our nation needs you—at your best. That may necessitate making a few changes. Let me encourage you in this effort. You have done noble things in the past for our nation. I believe you can do it again.

“But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.”
(Isaiah 32:8 (NIV)

In my last blog entry I attempted to demonstrate that America needs you more than ever. Why? Because our nation needs to adjust its course. In too many important areas, we are moving along the wrong course. We need to change our direction in crucial areas like the economy, crime, immigration, and health reform to name a few.

In the current Presidential election race, both Senator McCain and Obama cite the need for a change. But what direction do we take? The answers are not always simple. The issues require careful examination.

Let me illustrate. As an Infantry platoon leader in Viet Nam, my unit often operated in thick jungle. Navigation was difficult. The vegetation was so thick at times that we had to cut a pathway using machetes. Some days we traveled as little as 500-600 meters. In vegetation that thick, determining the right direction could only be achieved by use of a lensatic compass and maintaining a careful pace count in order to know how far we had traveled. Getting lost or disoriented could easily happen. With the lives of my men at stake, I never considered that a good option. I used safeguards to keep that from occurring.

Before I tell what these were, let me tell you what I didn’t do. As the leader, I didn’t assume that I was infallible with my navigation and map reading skills. I knew that I needed to use sources outside of myself to get on the right course and stay on course.

On an individual level, I observe people everyday who are trying to navigate their journey through life completely on their own. They are intelligent and capable men and women in many cases, but their approach is not working. They are like ships without rudders. Ships like that are dangerous—for themselves and for others.

What about your direction in life? Are you headed in a good direction? Or could there be need for a change in direction?

Back to my situation in the jungles of Viet Nam. At times along our route, I would communicate to my squad leaders: “Time for a map and azimuth check.”

Some of you have been there, done that, and know exactly what I’m talking about. For those unfamiliar, I will cover that next time. Until then, I ask you to consider these words from Scripture:

“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.”
Proverbs 3:13,14 (NIV)

Today’s message is for all military veterans, but primarily for those of you who have officially concluded your military service. If you are still serving, there’s stuff in here for you as well. One day you, too, will take off the uniform. Believe me - I know. After 31 years on active duty, I am now a civilian as of August 2005.

Vets have talent.

The above statement is absolutely true, but hugely underestimated for its degree of truth. Many, if not most, Americans have no real concept or appreciation for the abilities of individual veterans, nor for the collective skills and capabilities of the massive vet population in the United States.

Veterans, this is not a knock on our nation or the American people at large. It’s also not a reason for you to feel sorry for yourselves or become bitter. Nor is it a reason to give in and fail to become all you can be in this life. It’s none of these things.

Rather, it’s a wake-up call for veterans across our land to step up and assume their rightful places in American society. When you entered duty in your respective branch of military service, America needed you and your unique skills and capabilities. You served well and faithfully, and contributed to maintaining the freedoms this great nation still continues to enjoy. Thank you.

Some of you may recall the draft invoked by Uncle Sam during the Viet Nam War. Joining the military via the draft may not have been your first choice, but you went anyway. You honored this nation and yourself by answering that call, and I would hope that the vast majority of you can say that serving your country was a great honor and privilege.

Today there is no draft, but America needs you desperately. Don’t believe me? Look around, fellow veterans. We live in a great country, but we have our problems. Plenty of them. Crime, poverty, unemployment, education, drugs, domestic violence, homeless people (many are vets), and the list goes on. In many respects, our culture is “me first” and there is little thought of responsibility to other people. I think of school teachers who tell me of their utter feelings of helplessness in controlling their classrooms.

Excuse, me, but there is something wrong with this picture- something seriously wrong. Do the descriptions in the above paragraph match the values for which you stand? Did you do your military service so that we can have a nation of people focused on nothing but self? Does the above paragraph seem to match “the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

Veterans, America needs you. So get ready. In upcoming blogs I will be sharing information regarding how to get ready- ready for some of the most satisfying and productive service of your life. Service that will truly have a positive impact on this great nation we call America.

More than likely, many of you have been enjoying watching US athletes compete in the 2008 Olympics that concluded just yesterday. Our athletes have made us proud, not only in the victories they achieved, but in the gracious way they handled defeat.

Particularly intriguing to me are the athletes who competed at Olympic level previously, had a break in their Olympic completion in 2004, and somehow made it back to the 2008 Games to compete again. Some even won medals. Amazing!

I say this because of the multitude of obstacles that could have prevented their participation in 2008. Age, injuries, sufficient time to train, etc., are only a few of the many good reasons for not competing. I suspect another must have been fear of failure. Even great athletes wrestle with this enemy, and oftentimes the enemy wins.

Fear of failure has relevance for veterans. Many veterans have completed heroic service in the military, only to find themselves stymied by fear of failure once they transition into civilian life. This fear can be crippling to the point that vets give up in such critical areas as marriage, parenting, education, health, employment, or in pursuing a life-long dream. I suspect that there are multiplied thousands who live under this fear and never live up to their potential.

Could one of these vets be you? If fear of failure ceased to be a factor in your life, is there something you would choose to pursue? If this is your situation, let me encourage you to step out and overcome your fear. You have overcome fear of failure in many areas of your life previously. You can certainly do it again.

In the 1980’s my family was invited to eat dinner with a vet and his family who lived in Alton, Missouri. This vet had been a Marine in the Viet Nam war and had lost both legs due to a booby trap. When we drove up to house, we saw a most amazing thing. The vet was on top of his roof laying shingles. He was roofing his home entirely by himself. I would not have believed except I saw it myself.

We can learn a lesson from this Marine. He didn’t concentrate on his disabilities, but on what he could do. He didn’t let fear of failure or doing a poor job slow him down. He made up his mind to give it a shot—and he succeeded!

Let me leave you this quote by former US President Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong
man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The
credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and
sweat and blood; who strived valiantly; who errs and comes up short again
and again; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends
himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows at the end the triumph of
high achievement; and at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring
greatly, so his place shall never be with those cold timid souls who know
neither victory nor defeat.”

The word veteran is a household word, and for most people it has positive connotations. Ironically, however, many would struggle trying to answer this question: What is a veteran?

In its broadest sense, Webster’s Dictionary defines a veteran as a person of long experience in some occupation or skill. In the sports world, Brett Favre comes to mind. After 17 seasons as quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), Brett is now using his veteran skills as quarterback for the New York Jets. His arrival to the city of New York has created an atmosphere of excitement and high expectations as fans wait to see what he can do to lead his new team. I believe most people want Brett to succeed.

According to Webster, however, the word veteran has two more frequently used and understood meanings: an old soldier of long service, or a former member of the armed services. Taken together, a veteran is a member or former member of the armed services.

In my opinion, Webster’s definition falls short of capturing the essence of what it means to be a veteran. Recently, a chaplain emailed me this description:

A “Veteran” — whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve — is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount of “up to, and including his life.” (author unknown)

If you have served or are presently serving in the military, you signed your name on this blank check. Thank you! Thanks for your commitment, your sacrifice, and your willingness to serve others, even if it could cost you life or serious injury.

But let me be bold and ask a follow-up question. As you recall signing your name to that check, is that check still in effect? Or do you consider that you made payment in full once you completed your military obligation? If so, that’s fine. I am not being critical.

However, I suspect that many of you signed that check and intended it to be a lifetime commitment to the United States of America. In your mind, your service to our great nation ends when you breathe your last breath and not one day before. I salute your commitment. So does this nation.

Why do I ask about time limits on your commitment. I do so because America has huge challenges on many fronts. Our culture has evolved into a mindset of “what’s in it for me?” Willingness to be a member of a team tends to be rare. As problems mount both nationally and internationally, the pervading mood tends to communicate that there are no answers. Most only care about their own needs and cannot envision any kind of united effort to solve some of these serious problems. So why even try?

I do not share the views expressed in the above paragraph, nor any mindset even close to that perspective. I believe that the American people possess the collective capability to tackle many of the problems that presently plaque our country and our world. But, we must work together.

Much of my optimism hinges on having complete confidence in our veteran population, men and women with proven track records in both word and deed. They know what it is to serve and sacrifice, and they know what it means to win despite the odds. They haven’t just talked about what they were going to do. They have endorsed the blank check and have paid (and continue to pay) regardless of the cost.

The United States has approximately 25 million veterans, the sum total of former members of the armed services plus those presently serving in one of the military components. If each ‘vet’ could catch a vision of what could be accomplished, there is literally no limit to the progress to be made. Do you sense the potential to impact our nation?

With God’s help and the combined efforts and abilities of our veteran/military population, the United States of America can tackle and solve problems that presently threaten to sink us.

Will this be easy? No, definitely not. Will it happen overnight? Of course not. But is it doable? Definitely. The key is buy-in. It begins with individual veterans deciding that some things about our present culture need to change. It gets off the ground as individual veterans reach into their tool bag of experience, leadership, and skills and get busy making a difference—in homes, schools, communities, cities, and beyond.

I am trying to do my part by heading up an effort to establish Veterans With A Vision. In the coming weeks I’ll tell you all about it. For now, consider the vision statement: Veterans With A Vision is a network of prayer and support that empowers veterans, military, and their families.

In closing, let me ask you to consider your own life. As a veteran, can you see yourself stepping up and making a positive difference? Can you see groups of veterans joining together and solving problems? Can you envision a movement across America as thousands of veterans decide it’s time to weigh in and make a difference. Together, we just might be able to do this. With God’s help, we absolutely can.

But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands. (Isaiah 32:8)