Chapter Three - part twelve

  "So, I understand that you and my daughter have become concerned about the direction of this nation?" James just nodded and waited for Senator Davis to continue. Robert also nodded and leaned back as he spoke again. "There are a lot of folks who are very concerned and for good reason. Unfortunately, I am no longer sure that there are enough of those concerned citizens to make a real difference. No, that is wrong. I think there are more than enough concerned citizens to make a real difference. I just don't believe there are enough of them willing to make the sacrifices required to make any difference that will actually matter. Sarah talked with me yesterday and so I decided to talk with you today. You have both been looking and have seen a great deal of what is wrong with our nation. I wish that what you have seen was the entire problem we face. It isn't though. In fact I fear that what you have seen is just the tip of a gigantic iceberg. What I am going to tell you today is not to be spoken of outside of this room. I think that you will need to know more than many know, because I think you will be in the middle of whatever happens in the end. I think that way, because you have always seemed to find a path to the center of whatever problem comes before you. This nation's biggest problem is one that you can't possibly avoid, so I believe you will end up in the center of it eventually."

   He leaned forward again and continued. "James, this nation is sick and it is going to die. That is unless we take some drastic action and soon. I almost fear that it is too late even now. I have struggled from inside to change the course of this nation, but the simple truth is that we have way too much momentum going in the wrong direction. I don't believe that we can slow down or turn aside enough to avoid a terrible collision with destiny. We have spent and borrowed until we have grown a government and debt so massive that we have simply lost control of both. I think you know that we have reached a point where we can no longer sustain the government growth, but I fear that you may not know that we have also reached a point where we can't stop it either. The only way we can stop it is to simply cut it off." He paused for a moment. Then he went on again. "James, I saw this happening before my last election. I have tried desperately to make others see what I saw, but they have refused to even look. At least I thought they were. I have now realized that they too saw what I saw. They are simply too weak or too frightened to face it. We are facing a monster, but that monster isn't government or even greed. It is fear! This once great nation lives in fear! The people fear the government. The government fears the people. We all fear the world and we all fear the future. That fear alone is enough to destroy a nation, but even our fear isn't the greatest danger we face." He paused again for a moment.

   "The greatest danger we now face and the very thing that has caused us to reach this point is far worse than our current fears. The greatest danger we face is that we have lost the two things that we must have." He smiled at James before he continued. "I say we have lost them, but it is more like we have forgotten them. I can smile because there is still hope that we will remember them. I doubt it can be soon enough to save us from great suffering and loss, but it can still happen. You are my proof of that James! You haven't forgotten the things we need in order to live and prosper. You have both of those things and you remind others of them daily as you go about your life. The first forgotten item that we must have is faith. Without faith everything else is lost. The second is almost as critical if we are to change things and restore the faith we have lost. That is the one fear that we actually need to have. That is the fear of God! We now fear everything else, because we have forgotten to fear the one thing that we should fear the most. We have forgotten to fear God."

  "James, I have decided to step aside from my seat in Washington D.C. and instead work at things from a more local level. I will be running for Governor of Texas. In my opinion this nation is doomed to face a terrible future very soon. I hope and pray that it can survive that future, but I fear it cannot, at least not as it is now. The truth is that I know it cannot survive without major changes and those changes will be terribly hard on the people. I plan to make an effort to prepare my state to survive during those coming changes. James, almost two thirds of the people of this nation now depend almost entirely on the government to live. We can no longer even collect enough taxes to pay the interest on what we owe. That is something only a handful of people in the world know. We pay the interest on the debt we owe to the world, but we no longer pay any to ourselves and we are still borrowing. This nation is bleeding to death on the inside. I am going to try and get Texas ready for what I know must happen. There are still more people working in Texas than are not working. There are a few other states like that, but less each year. The time will soon come when you will see our government forced to turn on the people of this nation or be destroyed by them. I don't want to be a part of that. I hope that you won't have to be either, but it is going to happen... and soon! The simple truth is that it already is in many places. Sarah mentioned that you saw fear in the eyes of people when they saw a uniform. Well they probably have reason to fear a uniform. Men in uniforms are often sent in to stop protests with force. What is even worse is when they are sent in to take possession of what people have. Troops are now forcing people out of homes and off farms. Banks and corporations are taking them when the people can't pay a debt or make a profit for the corporation and troops are being used when required. That is becoming too common in too many places. I never thought I would see this happen in my own country, but I have seen it."

   James had listened carefully. Nothing that had been said was really a shock to him. Some of it was worse than he had imagined, but it was all much the same as he had feared it soon would be. He wasn't sure of what to say or what to do about any of it. He knew that Senator Davis was correct about the lack of faith and the lack of fear for God. James had forgotten God a few times himself, so he knew how true those words were. He doubted that anything he or Senator Davis could do would make any difference. Only a change in the people's hearts and minds could do that.  And only God could change hearts and minds. They talked for several hours about the problems and possible solutions. They talked about possible outcomes too. In the end they both just knelt down together and prayed for a long time. Nothing had been changed for the nation by their talk. Nothing had been changed for the nation by their prayers, but something had been changed for both of them by talking and praying together.

   They had come together with doubts, questions, and fears. They had shared those with each other and with God. When it was all over they opened the door and walked out to rejoin the world. They left those fears behind. They still had many of those doubts and questions. They were still searching for answers, but after talking they weren't frightened anymore. They both knew that unlike so many who were still worried and frightened by the world and the future they faced in it. They had nothing to fear. They both knew that God had walked out of that office with them and that God would remain with them always. They might face a lot of problems. There might be great pain and suffering ahead in their lives, but God would be there with them. Together they had shared much and together they had gained much; now they both felt reassured that they weren't alone. They had each other and they had God with them too. That might not change the nation's future, but it did assure them of their own future.

   James used his remaining time before deploying again to enjoy life with his family. He also did a lot of thinking about all that he had learned. James wasn't happy about leaving America again, but somehow he knew in his heart that he had to go. After the talk with Robert Davis he had known that there was nothing he could do at home to change things, not yet. Senator Davis had told James something that had helped reassure him about things. It seemed that despite all that was going on there remained a core of faithful Christian officers in the military. What helped James the most was hearing that those Christian officers were among the ones who would be making the final decisions about what the military would and wouldn't do inside America. There were still a lot of officers in high positions who had no connection with God and wanted none. Most of those officers were now either in non command positions or were overseas. The big problem was that while the military was shifting back towards God, the government itself was moving further away from God with each passing day.

   James knew that things had been bad, but he hadn't realized how far things had gone until that talk. Now he knew that Senator Davis was right. The United States was sick and in fact was dying. The United States that James had believed he lived in might already be dead or so close that it didn't matter. It was no longer a collection of separate states working together as a united Republic. It was one giant mass of chaos which had little order and no real hope left. The only question now was would this be the end for the United States? It very easily could be the end of the United States, but it could also be a new beginning too. James wondered about all of that and he prayed about it. He prayed that it would be a new beginning. James prayed that the monster America had become would be reborn and once again be the home of the free and the land of the brave. He prayed that it would be brave enough to turn back to God and be reborn. James was going to have to wait and see if his prayers would be fulfilled. His leave time was coming to an end. He was once again being sent somewhere else in the world. James loved his country, he loved his family, but he loved God more. James had committed his life to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He would continue to serve the One God no matter what happened to him or the world around him. James didn't know why God wanted him to go now when he wanted to stay home and do something, anything, to help his nation and his family. James just knew that God was still saying 'Go'... and that meant James had to go!