Chapter Five - part eleven

   The months had been passing quickly. It was election year in the United States and that was all the news a lot of the time. It wasn't the only news though. The world economy was slower than it had been last year. It was really getting bad in a lot of the so called wealthy nations now. The poorer nations had been suffering for a long time and were now all but collapsing. James tried to continue training as usual, but the news was really upsetting to all the pilots. Finally the ROCAF pilots were called home. Their training hadn't been completed, but they were needed back home. That wasn't the reason that was given though. The Republic of China said that the training wasn't being done properly. They accused James of trying to force Christianity into the training. The only saving point for James was the fact that it was an election year. The folks in Washington were too busy with the election to worry about him. That would change after the elections were over. Until then James was told to make the most of his time and the Air Force increased the number of F/A-48 pilots that he was training. They didn't have any J-35's to train against, but they knew what those could do now and that was enough to help.

   James had spent almost as much time praying as preparing during the last of the training with the full class. Now that they were gone he still did a lot of praying. Things weren't looking good to him. The nation was restless. The news tried to stay focused on the elections, but the people were focused on trying to live. In fact a lot of the people seemed to literally be focused on surviving. Even around the air base things weren't normal. The base had become home to practically all military personal and their families too. In fact without a special request nobody was allowed off the base alone. Phoenix and the areas around it weren't as bad off in some ways as a lot of other major cities, but it still had major problems. It was really bad on both coasts and the coming cold weather was making it worse in the northern states too. James was concerned about his folks, but they seemed to be doing well. His dad had managed to store extra fuel and supplies that they couldn't grow or make for themselves. The rural areas seemed to be mostly ignored at the moment, and that was actually a good thing for them. That was partly because fuel was limited everywhere and very limited away from the major cities, so people couldn't travel far. At least for now that lack of fuel seemed to be helping contain the worst of the problems to the larger cities.

   According to Sarah the government was trying to keep things contained and just get past the election without any major incidents. That was why James was so concerned. If something didn't start changing and soon the election wasn't going to help. The only thing that seemed to be unaffected was the military. The military just kept on training and deploying troops. James was still busy training pilots, though he wondered why. The military was the only thing that seemed to be able to maintain order and that wasn't going to last unless someone could start giving the people some hope. James wasn't the only one who was concerned. Most of the people he knew were getting more worried with each passing week. James spent a lot of time now checking in with people he knew around the world. That was the only reliable way to get news from around the world now. The web was still running, but it wasn't as open as it had been once. A lot of the stuff people wanted to talk about wasn't allowed on it publicly now.

   James was just glad that Sarah had moved the kids out to her folks place. It was in the middle of nowhere and it was now virtually an armed camp. Texas was a lot better off than most of the other states, but it was dealing with major problems too. The biggest of those problems was the number of people trying to move into Texas. Sarah's dad was almost guaranteed to be the next governor, but he wasn't yet. He spent most of his time campaigning. His brother, Uncle Bill, had moved to the ranch and was in the process of making it a secure area.  A lot of retired military were banding together in places like the ranch or farm now. They were expecting things to get worse before they got better too. The more things changed the more James was convinced that the nation was approaching a turning point. Unless something major happened to get the economy going and give the people some hope for the future soon, it was going to become very ugly. Most of the nation and indeed most of the world seemed to be too worried about their little spot in the mess to look at the bigger picture. All James could do was pray. He was where God had put him and doing what he had been sent there to do. Unless God changed things prayer was all James had to work with.

   James was tired, worried, and lonely, but he was still certain that God had a plan for him. That was enough for James. Jeremy had just completed something that had come as a pleasant surprise to James. Jeremy was now an ordained minister. He had completed most of his education online, but James knew that Jeremy had been taught more in the real world than by those courses. Jeremy had taken a three month leave to complete the final testing at a college in Dallas. It was one of the few that still graduated ordained ministers every year. James was also pleased to find out that Jeremy wasn't leaving the Air Force. They had talked about his plans before Jeremy had gone on leave. James would never have known about the real purpose of the leave if not for that talk. Jeremy had taken the leave because of the birth of his first child, but that hadn't been the real reason. Jeremy told James that he had started taking courses because of him. Those courses had helped Jeremy to reach the decision that he wanted to be a minister.

   That revelation had been another turning point. Jeremy had told James that he now understood and believed that God had sent James to the Academy.  Jeremy had doubted that at first. He had tried to ignore it, but he had come to understand that every step in James life and career had been a part of God's plan for James. It had been while watching the training and seeing the changes taking place in the pilots that Jeremy had finally been completely convinced. It was then that he had decided to complete his education and become a minister. Until seeing the changes those two little words had made in the life of Samantha Clark and a few others Jeremy had still had doubts. He told James that now he really did understand. Those two words 'Never alone' actually meant something far greater than those words could ever explain until God showed you what they truly meant. James had spent a lot of time thinking about that conversation and others that he had with different people.  James knew in his heart that another turning point was coming; this one would be about the people of this nation. James knew that it would be one that would require them and him to make the same choice he had already made so many times before in his life. Would they follow God or the world?

   James spent a lot of time praying for the strength to make the right choice when that time came for him again. Most people thought it would be easy for him to make the choice, but it wasn't always easy. In fact it was seldom easy to make that choice. Maybe he was supposed to be the Ironman. Maybe he had stood on faith time and time again during his life and career, but each time it was still him who had to make the choice. He was never really alone though. God was always there with him, but it was still James who had to make the final choice. God always waited until James made the decision on his own. And although God was always there waiting for him... it still felt very lonely when James took that first step of faith on a new path. James prayed that he could take that next step when the time came and James knew that time of decision would come again... and soon.