Brother joining the service

[kittylover0991]

Ever since my brother was about four and down on the military in Panama, my brother has had the dream of joining the military. Eric, my brother, used to sit in some of hte planes my dad flew and he had books that filled his room. He came up with different battle techniques with his toy tanks, infintry and air craft. He loves the military and has waited a while for his chance to serve our country and fight for its freedom.

A few years later(I am not sure of the date, i was born when he was four) he was diagnosed with ADD. He was given medication after medication, but it never worked. To see the list of meds. would make one want to die at the thought of ever going to a doctor. Around age 10, he developed a bone infection in his hip. He had surgery and it was cleared in just two weeks. Around 7th grade, he got into trouble at school for fighting(forget the typical hyper stuff). He was expelled, and had to be hoemschooled and then go to another school. There, he had more problems. Soon, he was finally diagnosed properly with aspergers, not ADD. He was put on lithium and... something else. He calmed down emensly. The medication worked.

By the end of high school, he had determined that he wanted ot join the marines. He was weaned off his medicaiton because, in order to join, he had to be off the medication for a year. Eric worked so hard at training every night and saturday morning. He lost about 30 pounds, went from no pull- ups to almost three, can do over a hundred sit up and push ups, and can run faster than ever before. He met all the requirements for the marines. I'll jsut say that they wanted to get him in(I am not sure how many details i can actually give on how that worked out).

He was so happy. The next day, he was supposed to go and get a fitness exam and take the test.. i dont remember the name off hand. He came back in two days, and it turns out, that because he had a bone infection when he was ten, he cannot join the military. They told us we could send in wavers as a special request, but he was turned down. That had been his dream for 15 years, now(he jsut turned 19 on May 5th). It was gone. For the first time in my life, save a couple diciplinary measures by my parents, i have never, ever, till that day... see my brother cry. He didn't cry like a little kid.. but i saw a tear come down from his eye...

Later that day, he was in denial that he was upset. We all knew he was because of his actions and the tone of his voice. His dream was shattered. There was nothign we could do but be there for him. It hurt me a lot not only because he lost him dream, that he was hurting and i could do nothing about it, but that he had been there for me and my mom and dad, when either my mom or dad was away on TDY(military). He was there, and he stood strong for us becaus ehe knew he had to.

A little while later, my dad told me that my brother had the option of joining the army... there is something else going on and he has the very SLIGTEST chance of joining the marines. THe sergant at the station made a joke telling my brother that if he jons the army, Sgt H__ would personally make sure that he wouldn't get infintry .. there was no more slots for just infintry in the marines.. which is what he wanted.. ...

Now, all i am asking for is your prayers on this...

that my brother would accept Christ and know what to do and where to go, that if he be the Lord's will, that my brothe rwould join the military and not get hurt.. and for my family as it struggles because of the many things "life" has thrown my brother's way.. that they would be able to stay strong and accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. He needs prayer.

This is also meant as a thing to say, pray for our military troops, they need our support.

Does anyone have any ideas on how i can help my brother, comfort him and my family?

[Constant]

Kitty,

You and I have chatted before in the chat room about your brother. I am sorry to say that it is true with the Marine Corps, if you ever have been hospitalized for anything, you can't get in and waivers are jokes. The Army is more leanient on that stuff and it is an option for him. But, is the Army in his heart? All the Marines I know, including me and my husband, becoming a Marine is in your heart. He needs to thank the Lord that is has been giving the Army opportunity but I am telling you right now, if it isn't in his heart, he shouldn't do it.

I will be here if you need to talk and I will be praying for your brother.

Your Sister In Christ,

Allison

[kittylover0991]

Thankyou. I dont know what is in his heart, other than that for a long time he had a set on the military and then, specifically, the marines. He has always wanted to be infintry.. but i dont' know. He won't thank the Lord for it because he doesn't know the Lord and rejects him...

[Constant]

Seems to me that he was rejected by the Marine Corps due to medical history and that is really digging into his heart. He needs time to heal. Just be there for him like you are now. He will, in time, know what his calling is whether it be the Army or not. Hey sometimes I wish I could swap jobs with someone and they can be in the Marine Corps!