A Light In The Darkness

from Carolina Chrome March Issue 162

EVENTS

Laying on a gurney in the back of an Army ambulance, I thought I was a goner for sure…

Roving Sands, the largest military training exercise in the United States, was a regular event which began in 1989 and continued well into the 2000s. My main function during Roving Sands 1993 was to keep large generator sets maintained and running in order to provide power for radar and missile systems.

On day one, we drove for hours across the New Mexico desert until we finally found the coordinates to where we were supposed to set up our missile site. As I climbed from my vehicle, I stood for a second and looked in every direction. We were about the spend three weeks with nothing to see at but mesquite bushes, tarantulas, rattlesnakes, and a lot of sand.

I was assisting in putting together the motor pool maintenance tent when I noticed people running toward where the mobile kitchen was being assembled. Thinking something was wrong, I hopped from the hood of my vehicle and ran to where the excitement was.

There, sitting on the ground, was a young soldier friend of mine with his boot off. Laying near him was a dead Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, and on top of his foot were two small puncture wounds. The snake had bitten right through his boot and into his foot. He was taken to the hospital and came back a couple of days later and all was good.

During our stay in New Mexico, we came in contact with 25 or 30 rattlesnakes. When we walked from place to place, we could hear them rattling in the mesquite bushes and under our vehicles. Some small ones even made their way into some of the tents. This was quite unnerving! The medic attending me in the back of the ambulance asked, “Is there anything you want me to tell your family?” “WELL THANKS A LOT BUDDY!”

Peering through the rear window of the hummalance, there was nothing but darkness, and the situation looked very grim. We had not seen a single vehicle all night, and this road was hardly ever traveled. As I mentioned in the beginning, laying on that gurney in the back of the Army ambulance, I thought I was a goner for sure… After sitting there for over an hour, I noticed something flicker in the distance. In the desert you can see for several miles, and I was sure I had seen a light. Initially, the light resembled a pinhole in black canvas. Then, for what seemed like an eternity, we watched as the tiny glimmer grew larger, then split in two, and finally became almost blinding… As the vehicle approached our hummalance, the medics flagged for the driver to pull over. It was an Army soldier in a Humvee heading in to work. I was swiftly loaded into the back of the Humvee and sped away to the hospital for medical attention.

My point is this… When I was in a very bad place, thinking I was going to die, that little flicker of light provided hope… As I stared at the light, it became more prominent… When I embraced the light and what it brought to me, I received exactly what I needed…

One evening about midnight, as I was out refueling the generators, something hit me in the lower leg. Looking down, I saw that a rattlesnake had hold of my pants. Apparently, I had stepped on it and yep, it had bitten me just above my boot. The snake recoiled and began to rattle, and I moved away. Calling for assistance, the supply sergeant ran to my aid and killed the snake with a wooden tent pole. The medics loaded me into a humvee ambulance (hummalance) and off we went on a 50-mile road trip to the hospital… Or so I thought… About twenty-five miles into our ride, the “hummalance” began to run hot. A few minutes later, steam was entering the cab and we could smell the aroma of coolant. The driver made the decision to keep going until the vehicle would no longer run, which would not take very long. The Army hummalance finally stalled and coasted to the side of the road.

Scrambling for anything they could find, the medics cut open IV bags, poured canteen water, they even opened 12 pack of Dr. Pepper, and used any liquid available to fill the radiator. After a few minutes, we were again on our way. But not for long… After another 20 minutes, we were stalled once again… We were out of reach for the radios, cell phones were still unheard of, and I was in bad trouble.

John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” Jesus Is the light of the world. When we are burdened with despair, He is that light of hope. When we are overwhelmed, He is that light of comfort. When we are burdened by our bad decisions, He is that light of forgiveness. If we seek Him, His light will show us the way. One thing we can always be sure of, if we keep our focus on Him, we will never be in darkness!

Shine that light!