Follow Me

 One of Joel's dreams growing up was to join the military. He did join the Army National Guard when he was 19, after working really hard to lose enough weight to meet the requirements. But he ended up breaking a bone in his leg right at the end of training, and wasn't able to finish the final PT test, so he wasn't allowed to complete his term of enlistment. Not being allowed to serve his country broke his heart, and was one of the things he regretted most during his life. But he turned his passion for all things military towards being a prayer warrior instead. He wrote this before we met.


Follow Me  


I am the infantry

I am my Lord’s weapon of war

Through Him I will attain peace

I am the heart of the fight

Wherever and whenever

I carry my Lord’s faith and honor before me

Against the enemy

We are victorious in battle

 

I am what my Lord trains me to be

The best trained and most dangerous soldier in the world

In the race for heaven I am swift courageous, and determined

Armed with the fierce will to win

 

Never will I betray my Lord’s trust

Never will I fail my comrades

Always I fight on, through the foe to heaven’s gates

To triumph over all

If necessary, I will fight to my death

 

By my steadfast courage, I will show the way to freedom

I yield not to weakness,

Nor to hunger,

Nor to cowardice,

Nor fatigue

I yield not to superior odds,

For I am spiritually tough, physically strong, and morally straight

 

I am obedient to my God and my country

I will not now, nor ever forsake

My God, Lord, and King,

My country that I love,

My family I serve,

My mission,

My comrades,

I will not forsake my sacred duty

 

I am relentless

I am inevitable

I will always persevere

I am always ready to fight and win, for now and forever

I am the infantry

In God’s army under Christ’s command

He goes first and commands me

Follow me!

I am the infantry, follow me!


~ by Joel Purkerson


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Faithful Promise

  Joel spent the next few years trying to find help, and was finally getting some treatment for his mental problems, although it wouldn't be until after we married in 2001 that he would finally get a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the meantime, he spent countless hours reading and researching, trying to find help for himself, since the mental health system was not doing its job. He wrote this poem several years before we met, looking to the future, when he might find the person he was meant to be with. The Faithful Promise When I was young, as I talked to God, I looked up at the sky Counting the stars that He made as each night went by   Then as a man looking for mine, I found to my dismay The star that God gave me was missing, and is to this day   A black spot in the heavens where it is supposed to be I’ll feel incomplete till I find it, that star belongs to me   I ran crying to God and asked Him to help me in my plight “My son, worry...
Read more

The Unsung Soldier

  This poem was written as a tribute to Joel's parents, for the years they spent praying for their children. The Unsung Soldier (Based on Eph. 6:13-18)   Soldiers are known by the uniforms they wear Battles they fought by the scars that they bear Their courage and valor by the medals on their chests Their bravery and sacrifice praised by those they protect   The foe that was slain laid to rest in a grave In death they are honored for the life they gave Centuries of conflicts evident for all to see The blood that they shed written down in our history   But there exists in this world a soldier unknown by most Camouflaged in humility with no desire to boast Battle after battle faithfully they fight Alone on their knees in the still silence of the night   Their tears never seen, cries of pain never heard Their victories unknown, they bear it all without a word With a smile on their lips and kind word on their tongue Hidden sc...
Read more

For Marilyn and Lyman Carpenter

  This is the last poem I found. It was among some letters my Mom had kept. It's a poem Joel wrote to my parents at some point before my Dad died in 2006. Looking back at my life And all that I have lost, The years of constant strife, Tears and pain with great cost   Experience has taught The skill of how to “see,” What I have and have not, And the cost of what’s “free”   Now in church, where I’m faced With all that I have now, My God’s Blessings and Grace, Harvest where I didn’t plow   From my Heart, I now share My gratitude for what you do, And just how much I care, I thank God for both of you   ~ by Joel Purkerson
Read more