God is Love

What I learned during vague and frightening times.

    1990- A time I vaguely remember. What I recall was Desert Storm. I was a preteen then. It was a war against Saddam Hussein. This was a time when I attended church on Sunday and Wednesday. I was a Nazarene.

     I still do not know anything about the Nazarene faith. I know Jesus of Nazareth. I know about the living tree that everyone sings Christmas carols in every December. I became fully aware of how people are paranoid about the end of the world. I learned that people are concerned that the world will flood and everyone will drown. Maybe it will happen one day, but we do not know when. I honestly think it is something we can work together to prevent. I honestly think that the end of the world was never intended to be known. I believe that stories of the end have much to do about the end of each individual life and not all life.

     I learned a lifelong lesson that everyone should learn that could possibly save humanity. This is something that the pastor said that stuck in my head clear into my adult life. My mother brought me to church the day Desert Storm began. The Teens group met in the carpeted gym where the pastor told us to gather around him. He was there to provide comfort to us during a time of war.

     Something about this meeting was unique. Normally, we learned the word of the Holy Bible and missionaries. I normally heard stories about those who were saved by Christ and that "He lives." Occasionally, I heard about missionaries who went to spread the word of God and were killed because other cultures disliked our ideas. For all we knew, they knew the history of how we destroyed indigenous tribes and wanted no part of it. 

     This time, the pastor described the horrors that people went through because of the tyrant Hussein. He told us that these people were frightened because of him. He was torturing and killing people in the Middle East. What he taught us was to not be afraid because they were more scared than we were. He told us not to hate or judge them because they were living in fear. He told us to pray for them. Pray for their safety.

     I felt a great deal of concern for people in the Middle East. As Desert Storm went on, my concern extended to American soldiers and the environment. Even after the talk at the church, there was quite a bit that I still did not understand. Why would we? I was a teen in America.

     When I returned home, my parents were watching the television. Images of Desert Storm flashed on the screen. Reporters spoke of nothing, but Desert Storm. They played the night time footage of missiles streaking across the sky.

     I do not remember people speaking much of Desert Storm. Today, it makes me wonder what things would have been like if social media existed then. The only people with the voice were the reporters. All of the footage consisted of oil overwhelming the water, oil suffocating birds, and fire shooting into the sky.

     I had two teachers who spoke of Desert Storm. One told the class how it can get hot during the day and freezing cold at night. Another teacher gave graphic details about the artillery. She mentioned a weapon that could shoot through a tank. The bullet would puncture through a tank and made everyone inside evaporate.

     As years passed, I heard more and more stories about how people were tortured. More books were released about Desert Storm and the soldiers who fought in the war. I do not recall much. All I remember was that I was a teen and Desert Storm was a distant memory. What I learned in church was a distant memory until years down the road.