I remember that term from the show of the same name…and it meant that a nuke was missing…but i also remember that it was used in another military show, so i went to check it out! And…it’s from “We were soldiers”! and it’s meant to call in an airstrike near a friendly position that has been overrun, it’s a dangerous last resort as it has a high probability of “friendly” casualties, but it may be also…the only chance to save them…
Irony isn’t it?
But yes, i was captured by the term, and also the whole concept of it all…I think, in reality, we have many “broken arrow” moments in life! Moments that someone speaks to us in love knowing that it will hurt us, but at the same time it might be the thing that saves us, life in those “broken arrow” moments are really uncomfortable, yet, it is also extremely redeeming…and freeing…
I still remember one of my first such moments, I’d made an imprudent choice to forgo a sunday of worship & fellowship, for a really frivolous reason…and when in the meet up with church people after, one of them took me aside to ask me abt the morning i went missing, and when the frivolous reason was found out, proceeded to lovingly yet firmly ask about my choices and also what i was valuing…That was a really sobering moment…and one that really stands out in my memory, because the person showed me what true love meant. Placing loving rebuke above a sub-standard friendship, risking our good relations by stirring up a possible hornets nest, choosing to speak when it was easier to say nothing, being a true friend more than just a bystander…
I’m forever grateful for that, a moment that still counts as one of my all time most important moments. One that made me question priorities and really…did i truly love God as much as i said i did? That was a pivotal moment…
These days…i’m truly worried…this year itself, I’ve totally lost track of how many times i’ve felt frail, how often i feel physically weak and bodily ill, and then those moments when warfare around me has been so intense i felt like i was sinking all the time. When i first thought of the term “broken arrow”, it was because i felt so weakened and broken this past year, how i did not even feel like i was much of an instrument (arrow) in God’s hands…it just seemed like this year was so much more defeat, sorrow & sadness…but yes, now, looking at the term again, and seeing it as it is used in military life…i can liken it to where i am…this year has been filled with some “friendly fire”, some panic moments & of course spiritual warfare that has been rearing it’s ugly head, yet…i’ve also seen God not only save me with His Mighty Hands, but also using the people and circumstances around to shape, mould, help, grow, save & do the things i could never do myself! I feel that this has truly been a “broken arrow” year…and yes, one that God is using to save, redeem, grow and to shape for His Glory! For all of these, i’m thankful!
Wondering how this looks like to God actually…the musings of a person…imperfect yet wanting more, broken yet restored in Him, looking up in Hope yet acknowledging the daily moments…the world says snatch what you want, God says wait on the Lord…and so…when faced with the choice…what do you do? I wait…cuz He says wait…broken arrow? Nah…not in His hands…=)
