I had received a copy of the book when it first came out in
2007, but I neglected to read it. I knew the story. I understood and believed
in what this Navy SEAL had done. I acknowledged the credit this warrior
deserved. I’m not sure what held me back from reading the book.
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| Two Texans - Two Great Americans |
But this year, the movie was released, and with all the commentary and reviews, I was finally prompted to read this amazing account of valor. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I will! Mainly to simply show support for this courageous man that determined in his heart that the heroic actions of his comrades would be told.
That fact right there is the key reason Marcus wanted to
share his story with us. Keeping a promise made to oneself - or anyone else for
that matter - at all costs is a
lesson worth learning for all of us! Truly inspiring!
But the lessons don’t end there. I finally grabbed a pen and
paper as I read, to jot them all down, so I wouldn’t ever forget any of them.
Here’s a spoiler alert.
I’m sure everyone knows the story and how it all ended, so my spoiler
alert isn’t about that, but rather simply the insights and lessons I learned
from the book as I read. If you want to
read the book before reading about it
through someone else’s filter and personal thoughts, then don’t read any
further.
One of the first lessons, I learned for myself is that (in
my opinion) the whole root of the SEAL teams is humility. I didn’t know that. I
had read Chris Kyle’s book American Sniper
and truly believed him to be a humble man. In fact, that is one of the
things I admired most about Chris Kyle. But I thought he was probably an
exception. I learned from Marcus rather,
that humility is the whole basis of the SEAL training. Let me explain.
Marcus goes into quite a bit of detail of what the SEAL
training consisted. Something I noted was that he said over and over how the
words of his friend and local trainer, Billy Shelton, kept coming back to him.
“Listen to even the slightest suggestion of those training you, and do it.” It
was often what kept him going throughout his training. But what it showed me is
that throughout his training, those words came back to him and then he followed
through. That takes nothing less than true humility. A proud man may have thought
he knew better. Arrogance may have led one to ignore a minor suggestion or
something that could have been deemed trivial. The men who make it through the
program are the ones that are humble enough to listen and obey. It reminded me of Ben Franklin’s poignant
words: “He, who cannot obey, cannot command.” I believe the root of all that is
simply humility.
Another lesson from the book that I truly took to heart, of
course, is the fact that Marcus truly believed that God is still in the
business of miracles. I lost count of
how many times Luttrell should have lost his rifle, but miraculously it was
always right there when he needed it.
Marcus gave God the credit each time. Also in that, we see that though
God is always there for us, He still expects and requires action from us – a minor
insight, but huge in the way of life.
Clearly there was a time Marcus Luttrell experienced an Alvin
York moment. You know the World War I hero that initially wasn’t sure if he
believed in war because of his faith. Marcus had a moment like that, too; but he
didn’t get the time and opportunity to go to a mountain top to pray about it
for a few days first as Sgt. York did. Luttrell’s moment was and had to be a
flat out in the middle of it
decision.
Personally, I believe whether or not those SEALs decided to
kill those goat herders, the outcome would have been the same. Either way, it
still would have brought down that firefight with hundreds of Taliban against 4
of the bravest men that has ever walked the face of this earth. Certainly not a
very good ratio, but I am sure there were moments those ruthless Taliban must
have wondered with whom in the world they were really dealing!
What I believe the lesson is here, is the Biblical message
of “reap what you sow”. I firmly believe because Marcus chose to follow the
insane and destructive, but formal Rules of Engagement (ROE) letting those men
live, God gave him grace later. I believe because he offered life to those
Afghan goat herders, God spared Marcus’s life through the protection of the
Pashtun people.
I don’t know why the other 3 SEALs had to die, or those that
attempted the rescue mission. I am not even going to try to understand that.
But I don’t believe it was due to anything they did or didn’t do. It was simply
the evil of war. My heart grieves for those American warriors and their
families. My heart also grieves for Marcus having to live with that memory.
We will probably never understand why it played out the way
it did. Maybe God had a purpose in Americans hearing the story of the noble
gallantry and courage of these four fine men. Someone had to live to tell it.
Maybe God wants us all to pay more attention to the enemy that exists for our
nation. Perhaps, God wanted those of us sitting here “safely in the coastlands”
to fully understand the impact of this war. I don’t know, but what I do know is
He was there through that entire battle and for the rest of Marcus’s journey.
One more lesson (something I believe, anyway) is that we see
as Marcus struggled to survive, over and over it was his incredible thirst that
pushed him forward. Out of all his injuries, it seems this was the one that was
most difficult to bear. Yet in that very trial, he was pushed onward, motivated
to continue. His thirst wouldn’t allow him to give up. I believe in that fact alone is an abundantly
clear message that sometimes it is our trials that get us through. We don’t
always understand the pain and suffering, but in moments like Marcus experienced,
we can see that tests and trials are what in fact, give us life allowing us to
continue.
Finally, we see the intercessory prayer from friends and
family that refused to lose hope. They continued their prayer vigil despite
what media was reporting and what the obvious would seem to be. That is nothing
less than pure faith brought to fruition through the prayer of all those caring people and finally revealed in the amazing story of Marcus Luttrell and the brothers that he
loves.
Yep, "mission accomplished".
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