Army chaplain turns journal entries into book of devotions

Army chaplain’s journal becomes book of devotions

A Blackhawk helicopter flies over Baghdad during during the surge in Iraq. Army Chaplain Michael Tarvin took this picture from another Blackhawk as he flew over Baghdad on the way to a forward operating base. Tarvin kept a journal during the fighting and transformed the entries into a book of devotions: Light in the Midst of Darkness: Devotions From Combat. In the inset, Tavin waits in battle gear in front of a Blackhawk helicopter as it is refueled in a remote combat outpost. Army chaplains do not carry guns, Tarvin explained in his book. They are noncombatants focusing on their mission, ministering to soldiers. Rather, a chaplain’s assistant, with one assigned to each chaplain, carries the weapon and provides protection for the chaplain.
A Blackhawk helicopter flies over Baghdad during during the surge in Iraq. Army Chaplain Michael Tarvin took this picture from another Blackhawk as he flew over Baghdad on the way to a forward operating base. Tarvin kept a journal during the fighting and transformed the entries into a book of devotions: Light in the Midst of Darkness: Devotions From Combat. In the inset, Tavin waits in battle gear in front of a Blackhawk helicopter as it is refueled in a remote combat outpost. Army chaplains do not carry guns, Tarvin explained in his book. They are noncombatants focusing on their mission, ministering to soldiers. Rather, a chaplain’s assistant, with one assigned to each chaplain, carries the weapon and provides protection for the chaplain.

The United States Military is engaged in a great and noble task in Afghanistan and Iraq. Sadly, as of yet, it has not progressed as many had hoped it would. The best intentions have resulted in many deaths and not the progress or restoration of justice that was expected.

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Courtesy Photo

Army Chaplain Michael Tarvin and Chaplain (Capt.) Jay Outen are ready to go on a patrol in the Samaara region of Iraq. As the Command Chaplain for the Multi-National Corps-Iraq, senior chaplain for all operational units in Iraq, Tarvin supported 300 chaplains assigned to bases and camps throughout the region.

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Courtesy photo Chaplain Mike Tarvin stands in front of his quarters at Brassfield-Mora, a forward operating base in Iraq named after two soldiers who were killed while defending the base. “That kind of news can make one’s heart weary,” Tarvin wrote in his journal.

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Chaplain (Col., Ret.) Michael Tarvin

Still, the Soldiers who are engaged every day around the world are working hard on behalf of the United States to do good things.

Book signing

What: Local Author Showcase benfiting Ozark Literacy Council

Who: Mike Tarvin and nine other authors

When: 1-3 p.m. today

Where: Barnes & Noble, Fayetteville

Information: 582-0045

Army chaplain mandate

(Or mission statement)

Nurture the living. Care for the wounded. Honor the dead.

-- Light in the Midst of Darkness

Chaplain (Col., Ret.) Tarvin

Michael Tarvin served more than 30 years with those soldiers as an Army chaplain, retiring with the rank of colonel. He served a tour in Iraq as the Command Chaplain for the Multi-National Corps-Iraq, as senior chaplain for all operational units in Iraq, he explained. He worked directly with the commanding generals David Petraeus and Raymond Ordierno, who oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq.

Today, Tarvin works as the director of chaplain services for Tyson Foods, overseeing 100 chaplains based in Tyson plants and offices throughout the country. But his military experiences are shared in Light in the Midst of Darkness: Devotions from Combat, published last year by West Bow Press.

"It was a brutally hard time from 2006 to 2008," Tarvin wrote in his biography. "The attacks were relentless: improvised explosive devices (IED), snipers, mortar and rocket attacks, ambushes and anti-aircraft fire. Every day, from the end of 2006 through much of 2007, the number of soldiers killed in action and wounded in action seemed to grow. The violence of the terrorists and radical Islamists again the civilian population was even worse."

During his 15-month deployment in Iraq, Tarvin kept a journal, given to him by a women's Bible study group at Fort Hood, Texas. "I knew to survive all the death and chaos I needed to be spiritually strong, and so as part of my daily devotions, I kept a journal," his biography reads.

Tarvin sent different entries of his journal home to family and friends as a way of keeping them informed about what was going on, he said.

"... Initially it was just to help me try to cope and make sense of what was going on around me," he said. "It took me four years before I was back on my feet and felt I could turn it into a book that might help others in their spiritual life. God was pushing me, helping me to get through it," Tarvin said.

GOOD IN LIFE

Although the setting of Light in the Midst of Darkness is various military camps in Iraq, "each page of the book has a spiritual lesson that is designed to foster spiritual growth in anyone's life," Tarvin wrote in his biography. "It is definitely not just for Soldiers, Sailors, Marines or Airmen (whom he honors by using capital letters), but is a book that anyone will find enriching. Some of the stories are sad, some are joyful, some are encouraging, some cause you to stop and think, and all of them are powerful."

For example, Tarvin talks about body armor in one entry and how technological innovations have resulted in fewer deaths of soldiers. He compared a soldier's protection to the personal body armor promised to Christians from God.

A breastplate guards and protects the heart, so Christians can live righteously, Tarvin said. Accepting and knowing Jesus Christ are the boots -- and soldiers always sleep in their boots, always ready for any situation, he continued. And the belt of truth around the waist ... "Truth, God's truth, needs to be the foundation of all we do and is the base for true justice," he wrote.

The devotion -- as are all in the book -- is accompanied by a Bible verse: Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. -- Ephesians 6:14-15

Another devotion told the story of a squad helping after a bomb killed eight people in an Iraqi community. "One Soldier found a child in the rubble," Tarvin wrote. "The child was alone, scared and bleeding from the numerous cuts. The Soldier tenderly picked this child up, gently embracing and speaking kindly to the child. The little boy wrapped his arm around the Soldier and would not let go, recognizing the Soldier was good. The child was clinging to good.

"We need to determine the good of God in our life and cling to it as that child clung to that Soldier," the devotion continues. "Embrace God and adhere to the good in life. Hold on to what is good and right for all you are worth."

And Tarvin's devotions point out the simplest of things -- simplicity anyone can apply.

"The temperature was near 120 degrees," he wrote. "All of us were fully geared up with heavy body armor, helmets and additional combat items. Those conditions would be enough to sap anyone's energy, but the young medic in front of me also had a large, heavy medical aide bag. It was mid-afternoon, there was no shade, and we had been out in the sun in an area where high vigilance was required. I noticed this Soldier seemed to be bending over and 'resting' a little more with each passing minute. I went up, placed my hand on his shoulder and told him what an inspiration he was. I let him know how much I valued his service and willingness to take the extra burden in order to care for the wounded Soldiers. I offered him a drink from the bottle of water I had and then told him to hang in there in these tough conditions and what a great job he was doing. It was all he needed -- that word of encouragement and act of kindness brought a tired smile to his face. He stood up a little straighter under the heavy burden of his protective gear, hiked up his aide bag and began to check on the welfare of others.

"Jesus understood how a little encouragement could make a big difference in someone's life," Tarvin's devotion continues. "... A little support by way of a kind word or gesture can go along way towards helping another person. Are you an encourager? Try offering a kind word to someone today. You'll be blessed, and so will they."

After each seven devotionals, Tarvin included a page of questions for reflection -- so simple, all pages are the same, including lessons learned, praying for people who might be struggling with the points, changes the reader feels God is calling them to make and the reader's personal examples of the lessons.

SACRIFICE AND FREEDOM

Serving as the senior chaplain in the Iraqi theater of war, Tarvin spent much of his time traveling across the region to support the 300 chaplains he supervised -- the part of his job he found most rewarding. "I enjoyed mentoring the young chaplains," he said. "Many had come right out of divinity school. They got a quick training from the Army, and then were put right into battle. Some of them had not done a funeral service. Some had not done a communion service, or been with someone while they were dying."

"That kind of news can make one's heart weary," Tarvin wrote of the death of soldiers. "In these types of instances, I look to God for comfort, peace and some sense of renewal ... and God does it. I'm not sure how, but as this great Psalm (Psalm 23:3) says, 'God refreshes my soul.' It is not something I take lightly or fully understand, but God accomplishes it."

Tarvin kept the journal through his entire deployment, from leaving home, to arriving in camp, returning home on a furlough, to a final Christmas service in Al-Faw Palace in Iraq, ironic because it took place in a building Saadam Hussein had built as a palace.

But the story that moves Tarvin the most, and still brings tears to his eyes today, happened on his flight home for furlough.

"If you're there so long, they send you home on a break," Tarvin explained. "And we had just learned our 12 month deployment was going to be extended to 15 months. It was during the surge, and literally, every day there was more death and bodily injury."

A sandstorm delayed his flight. Normally, when soldiers travel aboard a C-17, they walk up the back ramp, through the cargo bay to the seats. But this time, they loaded from the front, where the flight crew loads.

"The main reason is the plane had bodies of seven soldiers and one Marine who had been killed. It held their caskets," Tarvin related. "It was a real touching and affecting time."

The plane flew from Iraq to Kuwait, where the soldiers and caskets were offloaded for other flights. "There's always a little ceremony, and I got to say a prayer for them," Tarvin continued.

"Everyone on board participated in a ceremony to honor the seven warriors who sacrificed their lives for a greater cause," Tarvin wrote. "I had the great privilege to offer a prayer for those brave soldiers and their grieving families.

"True freedom demands sacrifice," the devotion continued. "We are truly free because of Jesus' sacrifice, and we are blessed beyond measure! May we use that freedom and blessing to share the love of God with a hurting world."

And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

-- Ephesians 5:2

NAN Religion on 08/27/2016

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