Purgatory & Grace

If there is a Purgatory I'm confident I am passing through it, & it is called the Navy Mobilization Processing Site (NMPS). Here we are being indoctrinated & briefed on what it is to be a U.S. sailor once again. Being for the most part a private citizen I almost forgot how much "hurry up & wait" is involved. But even this frustration is a blessing, for now I have more than enough time to draft a blog entry.

For those of you who are curious NMPS is where the Navy processes its reservists back into active duty. We have to fill out volumes of forms & paperwork, & we also endure more medical exams, vaccinations & screenings. It all seems unnecessarily redundant to me (remember, I went through a similar process at Jacksonville) but I cannot help but admit that they have become much more efficient at this since the last time I went through it.

On a more personal note, I believe God is giving me the grace to once more rise above my emotions. When I first arrived here I must confess I was in a funk, feeling sorry for myself, which I'm sure is somehow a fruit of the sin of pride ;). But with the help of John Piper & a song like "Grace Unmeasured" (which I listened to on the iPod) God lifted me up out of my self-inflicted pity.

Already I see a theme emerging in this deployment, & I think it will be grace. Not mine, mind you, but God's. While showing grace to others or being gracious has never been a strength of mine it is definitely not a weakness of God's. And so through my weakness will He be glorified not because of what I am capable of doing on my own (which is limited) but by what he does through me. And maybe - by His grace - I'll return a more gracious man.