No matter the
circumstances,
everyone has a
choice in this,
including you.
Take advantage
of the
opportunities
available.
Broaden your
scope; explore
new thoughts
and new ideas.
look really hard in prison to find things that were
funny or amusing, but they were there.
In one prison camp I was in, one guy found
two worms in his rice one night, and he told the
others in the cells around him. Someone else
counted the bugs in his rice and found three.
Suddenly, we were all competing to see who had
the most foreign objects in their food.
A few days later, one of the prisoners suggested
we award the person who found the most foreign
objects in their rice by making that person King for
the Day. We would give the winner a delicious—
but of course, imaginary—dessert.
It was amazing how that game became
something we looked forward to every day.
The person who won felt a bit of a victory even
though it was such a simple one.
One day, God showed me something
else even more powerful than laughter…
thankfulness. It was Christmas time, and I was
really missing my wife and two small children.
I cried out to God and told Him I had to have
a way to endure. He had to help me find a way
to survive my devastating circumstances. As I
prayed, I sensed Him telling me to look around
and identify things I could be thankful for. I will
tell you, in all honesty, that it wasn’t easy. In fact,
it was very difficult.
But as I thought about it, I discovered several
things I could be thankful for. First, the guards had
given me a pair of sandals made from a rubber
tire. They were about four inches too short, and
I could walk in them only if I stood on my toes.
But at least these sandals kept my feet up off the
concrete floor, and that felt good, especially in
the winter, when temperatures dropped into the
thirties or in the summer, when they soared to
120 degrees.
I had also been given a blue turtleneck sweater
that added some warmth in the cold. When I
wasn’t wearing it, I used it for a pillow. It was my
best buddy for nearly eight years. I realized how
thankful I was for that one sweater.
Next, the guards had finally allowed me to
have a cellmate. The man turned out to be the
pilot I was trying to rescue when we were shot
down. He was a Christian too, and we were able
to encourage each other. I was so thankful for his
friendship.
As I thought about my situation, I realized there
was much I could be thankful for, even in that
miserable prison. I remembered a Bible verse I
had learned when I was a child—1 Thessalonians
5:18. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
When I really searched for something to be
thankful for, I found it. It wasn’t always easy, but
there was always something to thank God for.
It was truly amazing how that simple expression
of thankfulness would help me through another
day. This can be applied to anyone, at any time
and in any place.
Just reading through these reflections, you
can see that I have turned to God day after day
throughout my life. There have been many times
that He was the only friend I had, but God has
always been faithful. I can tell you that, if you turn
to Him and trust Him, He will be your friend also.
But He is more than a friend to me. He is my
Savior. I asked Jesus Christ into my life when I
was a young boy. During my late teens, I became
rebellious and turned from Him, but it didn’t take
long to realize how empty I felt without Him. I
prayed and restored the closeness I once had
with Him.
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal
Lord and Savior, you can know Him today. Ask
Him to forgive your past sins and to come live in
your heart and be with you now. He can give you
strength and comfort and peace in any situation,
just as He gave me peace in prison, even
though I endured dreadful, even sometimes lifethreatening
conditions.
Over and over again, I turned to Him during
those nearly eight years. Sometimes I needed
His help just to endure the next five minutes. But
God was always faithful.
I’ll close this letter by saying this: I didn’t
choose to be captured or to be a prisoner of war.
Those circumstances were beyond my control.
Perhaps what you are enduring right now
is not due to anything you did. Or maybe you
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