During my second tour to Iraq with the U.S. Army, I was walking to my communications office on Association day. It wasn’t the first time that the Army seemed to get in the way of my spiritual education: When I was finally ready for class, I also found out that I was deploying. Yet the whole experience taught me to love more, to be truer to myself, and to have more patience. I also felt so much love from my family, local church, and Association. When I returned home to the Seattle area, a fellow church member said, “We were praying for you!” I knew they had been, because I had felt it and seen the protection.

I was protected during more than two years of deployment to Iraq, not only from physical danger on base and during missions, but also from mental and emotional trauma. I found quiet moments filled with Love. How could they not be, if Love fills all space?

On that day back in Iraq, as I was crossing a little bridge over an empty desert stream, something lifted. I felt buoyed. It’s a cliché, but it felt as if the heavens opened. I looked up at the clear sky and felt something of Spirit. I was thinking about our Association that day and they were thinking of me. It was the embracing reflection of Love. Later, I learned that Skip had taken a pause in the day and asked everyone to pray for me. The support was energizing and protecting.  

I’ll always remember that Skip took time to send me an email in which he had hand typed the text of a World War II pocket pamphlet called Deliverance. Honestly, I think being remembered overseas meant more to me than the article!

“Thy kingdom come” starts the Daily Prayer and reminds me of that day when I felt new possibilities and potential. It proves to me what love and scientific consciousness can do. So grateful to be a part of this Association!