RJ, an Army Reserve chaplain in Iraq, has been blogging as Strider172 from Deep in Mordor, where the Shadows lie. His unit is scheduled to come home in a few weeks. On day of 306 in theater, he pauses to pass on the heartwarming story of Little Melissa.
Little Melissa comes home from first grade and tells her father that they learned about the history of Valentine's Day. "Since Valentine's Day is for a Christian saint and we're Jewish," she asks, "will God get mad at me for giving someone a valentine?"Melissa's father thinks a bit, then says "No, I don't think God would get mad. Who do you want to give a valentine to?"
"Osama Bin Laden," she says.
"Why Osama Bin Laden?" her father asks, in shock.
"Well," she says, "I thought that if a little American Jewish girl could have enough love to give Osama a valentine, he might start to think that maybe we're not all bad, and maybe start loving people a little. And if other kids saw what I did and sent valentines to Osama, he'd love everyone a lot. And then he'd start going all over the place to tell everyone how much he loved them and how he didn't hate anyone anymore."
Her father's heart swells with pride and he looks at his daughter with new found pride. "Melissa, that's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard!"
“I know," Melissa says. "And once that gets him out in the open, the Marines could blow the $&@# out of him."
As RJ says:
HAVE YOU PRAYED TODAY FOR THE SAFETY OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS? FOR GOD TO SEND CONFUSION TO THE ENEMY? FOR THE WICKED TO BE BOUND WITH THE CORDS OF THEIR OWN INIQUITY? IF NOT, PERHAPS NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO DO JUST THAT!
Consider it done. Come home safely, RJ.
Posted by Alan at November 22, 2004 12:29 AM