The Parting: A Connection

Like she was struck by lightening, Nancy awoke with a jolt. Anxiety washed over her and then a mournful, gut-wrenching sadness settled into her soul. Jack was dead. She was sure of it. What else could it be? Her boy was dead. Tears welled up in her eyes.

She looked at the clock. It was 1:17 AM. She quickly calculated the time in Kabul. Since Kabul was 9.5 hours ahead of her, it was 10:47 AM. Therefore, she was reasonably sure Jack was awake or doing his job. Then again, if he really was dead, that could happen any time of day.

She started praying. She didn’t know what to pray for so she started pleading for Jack’s safety and his life. She wanted to bargain with God to take her instead but realized if Jack was dead, it didn’t seem likely God would take her up on the deal. She decided to read the bible. She was about to begin reading Colossians that day. She thought for a moment then looked at chapter 1 verse 17. It said “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” This didn’t give Nancy any peace. While it is good to know God is sovereign, timeless, and all powerful, when you want something other than what God may want, it doesn’t make you feel any better. She put the bible away.

She wanted to call Charlotte but didn’t want to alarm her. What if she had a similar awakening? She may be lying in her bed or on her knees praying for Jack or she may be sound asleep. She was torn about what to do. Despair seemed to fill her. It was overpowering. Nancy spent the day pensive and nostalgic about Jack. She was on the verge of tears. She finally decided she would not speak to Charlotte about any of it. She would bear it all alone.

Hearing friendly shots fired from where JoJo and Jack fell was a relief to Corporal Taylor. He was responsible for them and the thought of losing a man, let alone two, was more than he wanted to bear. He knew at least one of them was alive but that there were three Taliban at the ledge was not good. He saw two more running to join them.

He began firing at the two running since they were clearer targets. A man to his right also opened up. Both running men fell before they reached their comrades. That left at least three of the enemy with the ability to shoot his men like fish in a barrel. He hoped his men had some cover.

He began barking orders to the men around him to get closer so they could coordinate an attack on the Taliban above his men. In moments 7 of Jack and JoJo’s comrades rushed toward the Taliban. The Taliban fighters understood what it meant to stay where they were and they rushed back to their original positions. However, in doing so, they returned to an area now in control of the US Army and they were quickly cut down.

A defensive perimeter was established around the ledge where Jack and JoJo fell. Corporal Taylor called out to them and was the first to peer over the edge. He was happy to see his men alive but JoJo was wounded. Both men were overjoyed to see friendly faces looking down at them.

Back in the barracks a few hours later, Jack was shaking. While he was happy to be safe, the whole incident unnerved him. He felt so helpless. The falling, even though it was a short fall, and the slide further down the embankment was beyond anything he could help. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the world would never be the same again.

He kept picturing in his mind people who survived a severe earthquake. The ground was always solid but during the tremors, the ground moved as if it were boiling. Afterward, their view of life, the world, was never the same. A paradigm shifted. Everything he once believed wasn’t true. Jack knew he would never view life the same again. If JoJo had died, he felt he would go off the deep end. Funny, now Jack viewed that statement differently.

43 days. Jack and his company had 43 more days until they would rotate home. Home. That word had always soothed him like a warm blanket or the sound of quiet waters from a river. Would the awkwardness he now felt extend to home?