A Few Good Men

I had the rare opportunity to spend an evening alone one night this week, so I took advantage of it. I made a tasty dinner and borrowed a movie from the girls. After eating pasta with chicken, tomatoes and fresh basil with a glass of wine by candlelight, I crawled into my bed and watched A Few Good Men. I assume most of you have seen it, but in case you forget, it's about 2 Marines accused of murdering one of their fellow Marines and about the Navy lawyers who are responsible for their defense.

One line stuck out in my mind.

The two lawyers working with Tom Cruise's character to defend these two Marines, get a bit testy with each other after a particularly challenging day in court. Jo (Demi Moore's character) says to Sam, "Why do you hate them (the 2 Marines they're defending) so much?"

He responds: "They beat up on a weakling...they tortured and tormented a weaker kid...they didn't like him, so they killed him, and why? Because he couldn't run very fast..."

As Jo is storming out of the courtroom, Sam turns and asks her, "Why do you like them so much?"

She answers: "Because they stand on a wall and they say 'nothin's gonna hurt you tonight, not on my watch.'"

For this reason I also am thankful for the men and women in our military. But I was thinking mostly about the poignancy of the line outside the military context.

The truth of this line struck a cord in my heart. The truth of the desire in my heart to have someone play that role in my life...to have someone say "nothin's gonna hurt you tonight, not on my watch" and back their words up with actions. I might venture to say that it's a desire all women have embedded in their hearts, and I might also venture to say that it might be a desire all people have in their hearts.

But the truth is that no one can offer us such promises. Not even God promises that He will protect us from all hurt; from ultimate and eternal harm yes, but from all the hurts along the way, no. He uses those hurts somehow...But I will say that even though I know this is true, the desire for protection from hurt is still strong inside of me.