Last Friday would have been my dad’s 75th birthday. But he passed away December 29th. Dad served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a Navy Seabee. Dad did not talk much about his service in Vietnam. Most of the time when “Vietnam” came out of his mouth, it was in the sentence, “There are children in Vietnam who would love to have that!” When we children were young, Dad would get irritated at us if we popped our knuckles. We did not understand why until one day, Dad pointed out to us that it reminded him of gun fire from his days in Vietnam. That gave me, at least, a different perspective on Dad’s behavior.
A new book recently published has also given me a different perspective on Dad’s behavior. It was written by Bobby D. Gayton of Cartersville, GA. His book is entitled: My Thorn in the Flesh: A Vietnam Veteran Speaks about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Bible. Bobby attended the Memphis School of Preaching, following his conversion, and has preached for the last few decades, even as he struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is most often associated with men and women in combat. Among combat veterans, PTSD is defined as People that Survived Death. It is exposure to extreme stress that is traumatic and can involve death or serious injury. The event can be so traumatic that you feel utterly helpless to do anything. Intense fear accompanies the event. As you can see, you don’t have to experience combat to experience PTSD.
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For Bobby, it took counseling as well as Bible study, prayer, and a strengthening faith to deal with his PTSD. Today, PTSD, for Bobby, stands for Pleasing the Savior Daily. Although my dad is now deceased, the book has helped me understand who Dad was. If you know someone who is experiencing PTSD, this book may be a helpful gift. It is available through Amazon. The individual may have to have other counseling help but this book – as Bobby weaves biblical passages into his discussion of the counseling aspects – may be beneficial.
We live in an imperfect world. But we serve a perfect Savior. Regardless the source of our trauma, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
–Paul Holland
