"I Have Finished My Course..." - Week 42

Ten months ago, before I left for this deployment, I made a commitment to God to consecrate myself and my efforts throughout this mission. I wanted to honor that commitment to the very end. This last week has felt very much like when I was winding down my church missionary service in Brazil over 18 years ago. I literally ran until the last night because I wanted to give the Lord everything I had. 

I only had a few days to teach my chaplain replacements the job I have been doing for the last nine months due to a delay in their arrival. I worked hard all the way to the end and can look back now with satisfaction that I gave it my all. I am reminded of the quote from Vince Lombardi: 

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle, victorious."

Or as Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." 

I have grown so much this year both professionally and personally. Only by the grace of God and the help of mentors have I been able to accomplish the things I have during this time. I am immensely grateful to Him for that.

I have left the Middle East and am in the process of demobilizing in Texas now, trying to get my days and nights back on track. I am looking forward to getting home this week to embrace my family and enjoy some rest. 

Now that my travels are in the past, I can share a few pictures. My youngest daughter, Leah, gave me a small teddy bear before I left, so I took these pictures with her bear to show he has been with me all along. I plan to give it back to her with a small album of these photos. 

Thanks again to all of you out there who have blessed me and my family with your thoughts, prayers, and charitable service during this time. I pray that the Lord blesses you for your kindness. 

In His Service, 

Chaplain John Critchfield

Happy Father's Day! - Week 41

It's another holiday in a deployed environment. So, what do we do? Run some more! This is the 10th 5k I have run here since Thanksgiving, as well as completing a 10k, a 10 miler, and a 30k ruck march. I have finally gotten to the point where I don't hate running anymore. And I achieved my best time for a 5k which is about 8 minutes faster than the one I did for Thanksgiving!

Father's Day tends to be a day of mixed emotions for me. My parents were divorced when I was four and I only had occasional contact with my father, so I didn't have the closest relationship with him that I would have liked. I am grateful to Sid Speirs, my friend's father, who was the best role model for me to learn what a good husband and father looks like. I try to emulate him often. I also feel conflicted because I don't often feel like the best father. I have my weaknesses too, and often feel annoyed by my children's fighting, arguing, whining, or demanding. So, when Father's Day comes around it reminds me I need to be better. That's not a bad thing, but it does come with a dose of motivational guilt. 

Today, for my last Sunday deployed, I spoke of 1 Samuel 16:7 and how the Lord looks on the heart. I spoke of what we want to keep out of our heart and what to keep in it based on scriptural evidence. More than anything, I have hope that the Lord sees my heart: my righteous desires, motivations, intents, and attempts to be a good father; how I want to raise my children in light and truth, teach them, coach them, and mentor them to become the best possible versions of  themselves. But most of all my desire to love them unconditionally, as our Father in Heaven does for all of us. Perhaps that is one of the greatest blessings of fatherhood, is that it motivates and pushes me to become more like my Father in Heaven. For that I am eternally grateful. When I spend time with my children one-on-one, I love to have fun with them, listen to and talk to them, and my love for them continues to grow.

I remember my Mission President told us 20 years ago that the most important investigators we will ever have are our own children. I have taken that seriously and have taught them the missionary lessons when they were seven years old, and then had them teach the lessons to the family to solidify them. I often think of what kind of example I am to my children, and I often set and reach goals or make sacrifices simply to show them what a disciple of Christ should do. I hope I succeed at pointing them to Christ and teaching them to look to Him instead of me, because I have plenty of weaknesses. But my greatest goal in life, my mission statement, is to serve God and take care of my family (meaning lead them to Him). I take my responsibility to preside, provide, and protect my family seriously, and I know I will stand before God one day to account for how I measured up to that expectation. I don't ever want to let Him down and am humbled by the trust He puts in me.

So for all the rest of you fathers out there, keep trying. Keep pointing them to the perfect example: Jesus Christ. If we can succeed at that, we will have accomplished most of our job. Instead of wallowing in guilt on a day like this, let's recommit to be better as we worship and become more like our Heavenly Father.

In His Service,
CH John Critchfield

The Speed of Trust - Week 40

Chaplain Carson Jump (the one who did the ruck march with me a couple of months ago) and I had the opportunity to plan, prepare, and conduct a relationship training for a group of Soldiers yesterday. It is a program called "Strong Bonds" which we often do back home for individuals, couples, or families to improve relationships skills. Since we are in a deployed environment, we are able to use some of that program money to teach individuals helpful skills that improve working relationships here and can help in their relationships back home. 

We used the curriculum "Speed of Trust" by Stephen M.R. Covey, son of Stephen Covey who wrote "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and many other amazing books (I'm a big Stephen Covey fan). 

We taught about how to first build trust with ourselves through building our integrity, character, competence, and results. This improves our ability to give others someone they can trust even more. Then we can build trust in our immediate relationships by engaging in practical behaviors that improve the feeling and result of trust. This makes every relationship work so much more effectively and efficiently. 

Stephen Covey used to teach that when we make and keep small commitments to ourselves first, it improves our ability to make and keep commitments, or even covenants, with others, whether they be our spouse, friends, family, co-workers, or even with God. I have been working hard this year and remembering this idiom of making and keeping small promises to myself through setting and reaching goals. Every time I think of going to the gym or finishing a homework assignment or finishing some other work-related task when I don't feel like it, I think about following through with my commitments to myself in order to strengthen my ability to keep my commitments with others. 

Following through with what I say I am going to do is very important to me, and I hope I can pass that integrity to my children. It all starts with keeping commitments with ourselves. I want to give others someone they can trust. Most of all, I hope God can trust me with whatever He needs me to do, who He needs me to serve, or what He needs me to say. I want to reach the potential I know He sees in me, even when I don't see it in myself.

I am forever grateful to those key influencing people who extended trust in me at pivotal times in my life that helped me see how much I could accomplish and the worth I brought to this world. I can think of a couple of encouraging teachers, my mom, my friend's parents, and a couple of supervisors who extended trust to me and helped me  see more in myself. Most of all, when I make covenants with God and reflect on them, I see the trust He has put in me, and I never want to let Him down. It only increases my loyalty to Him and what He asks of me.

So for anyone reading this, I encourage you to reflect on goals that you have thought of or set for yourself. Make a promise to yourself of a small step you can take in that direction, and then keep it. Then make another and keep it. Continue doing so until you have met that goal. Following this habit will strengthen your integrity, character, and ability for others to trust you. Before you know it, others will easily trust you, the speed of results will increase, the cost in relationships will decrease, and the energy and joy in your relationships will ultimately increase. I can say from experience that being intentional about these principles makes life much more enjoyable and productive.

In His Service,

Chaplain John Critchfield

I Love Jordan - Week 39

This last week I had the amazing opportunity to visit the country of Jordan to conduct some trainings. While there, we had an extra two days to see some of the local historical sites such as the Jordan River, the site where they believe Jesus was actually baptized, where John the Baptist lived, where Elijah was taken into heaven, Mount Nebo where Moses looked out upon the promised land just before his death, the Dead Sea, and Petra. What an amazing experience! 

One of the Soldiers who came with us desired to be baptized in the Jordan River, which another Chaplain was able to perform. Though our beliefs on baptism were different, I still felt the Spirit of that man’s desire to follow Christ and leave his old life behind. It was quite an emotional experience for all of us.

It was inspiring to be among the historical sites I have grown up learning about in the Scriptures and movies. I crossed off one of my “bucket list” items by riding a camel in Petra while listening to the theme song of Indiana Jones!

Though we were not allowed to go into Israel, I could see Jerusalem off in the distance from Mount Nebo. I look forward to the day when Dana and I can tour the rest of the Holy Land. But one thing was for sure, I felt the love of Jesus Christ in a place where He walked, where He led his children to the promised land, where He fulfilled his promises to the House of Israel, and where He will one day come again to rule on earth. 
But I didn’t need to see it for myself to believe and know that Jesus really did live, and die, and lived again for us near this place. Where the voice of God the Father spoke from Heaven and the Spirit  appeared in the form of a dove upon the Son of God. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that comes from a witness of the Holy Spirit which is more deeply imbedded than what eyes can see, ears can hear, and hands can feel. I look forward to the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that same truth, and I hope I can help others come to that same belief before He comes again.

 
In His Service,
Chaplain John Critchfield