Every January, the whole Marine Corps has a "safety stand-down". Basically it's a whole weekend/week of classes that remind/teach us about codes of conduct, current events and issues, and safety issues. Usually, standard classes cover terrorism awareness, STD's, drunk driving, drugs. Simply put, it's "health class"/physical education for Marines.
Usually, these classes can be pretty long and painful to sit through, occasionally broken up by an especially witty presenter or entertaining videos/pictures. This year is a little different. It's more sobering times as we remember two of our young Marines who were killed in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. Safety is no joke.
One class that stood out yesterday was one about HIV/AIDS. Usually, our classes are taught in-house by Marines and the one on STD's tends to be pretty cut and dry. This time we invited a Detroit couple who volunteer and work for the Health department. The man and woman are happily married.
They were great. Very engaging speakers, kept it "real", dynamic, informative, and funny. The man is 61 years old! We all thought he was in his 30's or 40's - very healthy-looking guy. Woman was hilarious as she openly talked about how she'd "get it on" with her husband.
They're both HIV positive. They have been for decades.
Something I've been thinking a lot about lately is attitude. When things go unexpectedly wrong, how do I deal with it? It depends on my attitude. A positive attitude. I can call that a lot of things, like "where I stand in my faith journey", "my personal walk with God", simply "my faith", "trusting God", "staying upbeat", or "being positive and making the most out of a situation".
When they first found out about their condition, the HIV positive couple were emotionally distraught, and even attempted suicide. Things seemed hopeless, so why keep trying?
After recovering from the initial shocks, both the husband and wife gradually realized that they were in a position where they weren't "dying with AIDS", they were "living with AIDS". Strengthening each other through love and encouragement, and eventually marrying each other, the husband and wife were able to partner together and overcome the negativity surrounding theor circumstance and rise above with strength.
Admittedly, standing in front of hundreds of strangers and even family members to talk about an oft taboo subject is not easy. But the couple believed that they were alive, healthy for a specific purpose - to educate and empower others about HIV/AIDS and prevent the "cancer" from spreading. As the woman said, "I believe in God, and I believe that the LORD has a better plan for me."
The couple closed out their session with spoken word. The woman started singing, "When the Spirit of the LORD falls on me, I will dance like David danced". The man spoke about the price and value of a life not wasted. Salvation.
Times are tough and outcomes are so uncertain. But I know trials are placed by God to refine me. I can be joyful (That's James 1). Catching up with another brother, we remembered that no matter how weak, defeated, discouraged, inadequate we may be/feel - like fragile jars of clay - that the LORD still chose us to hold His glory and light. While driving, this old song came to me:
"I want to be more like You, I want to be more like You. I want to be a vessel You work through, I want to be more like You"
I'm learning to turn my eyes upon Jesus.
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