One of our Marine sons left his military cover at our house after he was discharged. I have taken possession of this old cap which is showing signs of age and wear. The bill looks scruffy and the inside has frayed edges. Entropy in this dear old hat is certainly taking its toll, but I love it and I love the way it makes me feel when I wear it.
The old cap does several things for me.
First it reminds me of all three of our sons and how proud I am of all of them, as I mentioned above. I know that together, with their wives, they will teach their children the importance of trusting in the Lord with all their hearts and not leaning on their own understanding.
The hat also reminds me of who I am. There are aspects of my life that are tattered, and rough, but I know that in spite of the ragtag person I am, the Lord loves me as I am. Not only that, I am to love as He loves so that others can see how much He loves them. I often laugh and tell people that I don't take this "woman thing" very seriously. I don't because I wasn't made to be a "long cool woman in a black dress," I was made to be Coleen, a woman who is comfortable in her skin, no matter what age or condition that skin gets to be in. God sent his Son, Jesus, to save a ragamuffin woman from herself, a person bent self-destruction.
And there's something else this hat reminds me of. It reminds me that this life is a war, but the enemy is not other people. The great enemy is satan, whose sole obsession is to destroy mankind. He hates God, and the best way to hurt God is to turn His children against Him.
It doesn't matter what corrupt seeds first planted themselves in the enemy's heart before the world was created, what matters to us now is that there is a great enemy who kills, steals and destroys anything and everything he can to get back at God. He lost the war when Jesus was resurrected from death to give those who believe eternal life, but the battles still rage throughout all the earth until that great and glorious ending of all time.
As that day approaches, the battles will get more and more fierce, but thanks be to God, those who stand firm and trust in the Lord with all their hearts will see the victory Jesus ushers in and be part of the great victory party at the end. Yes, we are living a battle. Some days it seems the enemy wins, but we will have Victory in Jesus if we endure to the end.
"This is not time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure." Winston Churchill