The Pain of Planning for the Future

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
-Goethe
Today I was again reminded of another option for the direction of my future. I received, among other letters and advertisements in the mail, not one but two invitations to join the Army. This is the fourth and fifth times that I have been presented with this wonderful and somewhat ideal opportunity, so I'm beginning to wonder if it's not such a crazy idea after all. It all began a few years ago when I was talking with my friend John, who is now enjoying his training at the Air Force Academy. He suggested that I join as well (a different branch, yes, I know) so I could receive free tuition, among various other reasons that I can no longer recall. He was convinced that I was physically able for such a challenge; I, however, felt a bit uneasy about such a decision. Having freshly moved from the DC area, it is no shock that most of my friends are in some branch of the military. Though the thought of a 9:1 ratio of males to females is quite inticing, intense training was extremely repulsive. After hearing about the opportunity to intern as a dietician in the Army, however, I've become more inclined to this possibility. Cooking and a multitude of men (in uniform, no less), what could be better? I'd still be forced to learn how to shoot a gun and receive a lighter version of training, but it would be quite an adrenaline rush.
Speaking of adrenaline and military force, I'd like to comment on "my" pastor's sermon from yesterday morning. This was the first time he'd ever addressed any current events, yet it was probably the worst sermon ever given by any preacher. Talk of the tsunami signaling the world's end has reached even the newscasters, he declared. Could this be the end of the world? After the posing of this question, I should have just stood up and left (run) out of the church; better yet, yell some remark and run out, yet I was patient. At the end of his absurd half hour talk on the world's end, someone should have gone up to him and said, "I hope the world does end just so I'm not forced to listen to another horrible sermon of yours". Having discussed this with my brother, who is nearly four years younger than me, he agreed that the sermon was definitely uncalled for. As every Christian knows, the end of the world will come "like a thief in the night", meaning no one will know it's coming. Hence, I wasted a good half hour yesterday morning listening to some old man preaching about something that obviously is not about to happen.
Phillip Yancey, in his book "Where is God When it Hurts?", addressed the debate on a similar natural disaster's impact on Earth. About typhoons he writes, "Bangladesh and India have learned painfully that the earth's climatic system depends on such major disturbances; in years that typhoons stay away, rains stay away as well." Yancey's become one of my favorite Christian theologians because he tends to take a different stance on topics while referring to his decades of research. I borrowed this particular book from a friend at JMU last year, but didn't have the chance to finish it before I had to give it back. At that time I was reading it because I felt the pain of loneliness, among other things; now I just find it fascinating, especially for those of you interested in the medical field. It's amazing to think of pain in another light, as something necessary to experience pleasure. For without the sensation of pain, we would be unable to also feel joy and happiness. Lepors lack this ability to suffer physical pain, which leads to much emotional pain. In that way, pain and pleasure are linked to such unfortunate people. As Socrates said, "How singular is the thing called pleasure and how curiously related to pain, which might be thought to be the opposite of it."
Your Future Army girl?,
Anna