Boot Camp Prayer
By Brent Yamada
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| Brent Yamada |
I had survived three weeks of boot camp and as planned, had managed to stay below the radar. There are plenty of things to be noticed for at boot camp—few of them good—and I was hoping that being nearly a decade older than most of the recruits would give me the maturity to stay unnoticed.
Unfortunately, one guy had already grabbed our Chief’s attention. The RPOC (Recruit Petty Officer in Charge) who was over our division kept messing up. I was relieved when they fired him and found myself making fun of his leadership with the other recruits.
So on that same night when I heard “RECRUIT YAMADA, REPORT TO THE CHIEF” my heart sank into my stomach and my stomach dropped down somewhere below my knees. What had I done? It’s a bit of a blur to me now, but the Chief said that he’d noticed I was older and that I had scored 98 out of a possible 99 on my military aptitude exam and would I accept a promotion to RPOC.
I didn’t want to be in charge. I didn’t want to be the leader for these other people. I didn’t want to have responsibilities outside of just keeping my nose clean. But I could hardly say no.
The next day I had to place a call to my mother regarding some paperwork and she could tell that something was very wrong. I explained what had happened and with a catch in my voice told her I was totally overwhelmed. Her answer was simple, “Do you feel like the job is too big for you?” That was exactly it. “Then you should pray, because no job is too big for God.”
I had been raised a Christian and grew up praying before meals and at church, but I had never taken it on as a personal habit. I believed in Jesus and that his death had saved me from a life of sin, but I didn’t know Him as someone I could speak to personally. I had just never tried to have that sort of relationship with my Lord and Savior.
But from then on, every morning as I awoke in the open barracks, I would say a prayer for strength to get through that day. I would pray for wisdom to make good decisions for my fellow recruits and for courage to lead when I desperately just wanted to follow.
There was still a lot of pressure on me and my responsibilities did not lessen, but overall the job became much more manageable.
I’ve now been in the US Navy for ten years and married for six years. The lesson I learned years ago in boot camp has forever changed my life. I know that there is more to Christianity than just believing. There is a relationship available to us deeper and richer than any earthly one. And all we have to do is call on Him and He will answer.
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